Women can change their diet and use medication to control blood sugar. But it remains uncertain how closely blood sugar can be controlled to reduce the risk to the mother and fetus.
Blood sugar management in gestational diabetes
Researchers studied 1,100 pregnant women with gestational diabetes at ten hospitals in New Zealand. The study involved switching each hospital’s glycemic target from higher to lower. Outcomes for mothers and their babies in each group were compared. Tighter blood sugar control did not lead to larger-than-expected babies. However, it reduces the risk of neonatal death, trauma, and shoulder dislocation by 50% after birth.
Advertisement
The effects of strict blood sugar control on gestational diabetes
Stricter management almost quadrupled the risk of serious maternal health consequences, including problems such as postpartum hemorrhage.
The new finding could assist doctors in determining the target blood glucose levels each patient should aim for while managing their gestational diabetes. The study is the largest randomized comparison of two goals for blood glucose levels in a different population to date. The researchers note that additional randomized trials in different healthcare settings are still required to corroborate their findings.
University of Auckland’s Caroline Crowther said: “This unique trial allows for the sequential implementation of the newer, more rigorous treatment goals recommended for women with gestational diabetes and to be evaluated if there is benefit. actually without harm, using more rigorous treatment targets”. New Zealand.
Source: Medindia
