Complications of the Early Neonatal Period in Children from Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Changes in the course of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) at the present stage determine the emergence of a certain spectrum of completely new problems associated with the health status of newborns from mothers with GDM. The aim of the study was to investigate early neonatal complications in newborns from mothers with GDM. Methods and Results: The study included 404 pregnant women (gestational age of 37.0–41.0 weeks) with GDM. All patients with GDM were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 included 188 patients receiving insulin therapy; Group 2 included 216 patients receiving a well-balanced diet. The control group (Group 3) consisted of 68 pregnant women without disorders of carbohydrate metabolism. In Group 1, macrosomia occurred in 44(23.4%) newborns, in Group 2 - in 48(22.0%) newborns; in newborns from mothers of the control group, the frequency of macrosomia was only in 7.35% of newborns (P=0.01). Morpho-functional immaturity of newborns had the highest frequency of occurrence, despite the fact that all children were born on time; 80(42.6%) newborns from mothers of Group 1 and 77(35.6%) newborns from mothers of Group 2 had signs of morpho-functional immaturity. Conclusion: Diabetic fetopathy in newborns from mothers with GDM is manifested by morpho-functional immaturity of organs and systems developing in unfavorable hyperglycemic conditions.