Gestational diabetes can cause large birth weight, low blood sugar, and stillbirth in babies. Careful monitoring of the mother’s blood sugar can reduce the chances of complications. Most women with gestational diabetes give birth to healthy babies, but they are considered high-risk pregnancies. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes are not necessarily born with diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a problem during pregnancy that can cause adverse effects on both the mother and the baby. The effects of gestational diabetes on the baby include large birth weight, low blood sugar, and possibly stillbirth. Careful monitoring of the mother’s blood sugar can usually reduce the chances of gestational diabetes affecting the baby, and most women who have this type of diabetes give birth to healthy babies. Women with gestational diabetes are generally considered high-risk pregnancies as soon as they’re diagnosed, and doctors typically do everything they can to ensure that the rest of the pregnancy, labor and delivery go as smoothly as possible.
The most common of the effects of gestational diabetes on the baby is large birth weight. Babies born to women who have this type of diabetes typically weigh 9 pounds (4 kg) or more at birth. This is due to excessive amounts of blood sugar in the maternal system, of which the excess goes directly to the fetus, thus causing it to grow much larger than normal. There is a greater chance of complications during delivery when the babies are very large and a caesarean section must be performed in many cases. Although cesarean sections are considered safe, they are generally considered to be riskier for both a mother and her baby than a vaginal birth.
Another possible complication that can arise from gestational diabetes is hypoglycemia in the baby. Hypoglycemia is something that occurs when a person’s blood sugar levels drop too low, and when blood sugar drops dangerously low, a person can go into shock. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes typically have become accustomed to the higher blood sugar levels in their mothers’ systems, and these levels drop dramatically once these babies are born. This can lead to a child developing hypoglycemia. Although hypoglycemia is typically temporary in infants and usually goes away as soon as a baby has their first taste of formula or breast milk, close monitoring is still needed for the first few days.
The effects of gestational diabetes on a baby are very rarely severe enough to cause stillbirth, but they do occasionally occur. High blood sugar levels in the mother’s body can cause damage to her blood vessels, which can lead to reduced oxygen levels. Babies who don’t get enough oxygen while in the womb can be stillborn. The chances of this happening are low as long as the mother tries to take care of herself and manage her diabetes adequately during pregnancy.
Some people mistakenly believe that a baby born to a mother with gestational diabetes will be born with diabetes, but this usually doesn’t happen. There’s a slightly higher chance that a baby born to a mother with gestational diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes at some point during adulthood than babies born to mothers without gestational diabetes, but that’s not always the case. Despite the risks, most women with gestational diabetes go on to deliver perfectly healthy babies and are able to greatly reduce the risk of serious complications by carefully monitoring their blood sugar levels and eating appropriately while pregnant.
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