Prognosis of Infants of Diabetic Mothers in Relation to Neonatal Hypoglycaemia

Abstract

A prospective follow-up study was conducted to determine whether neonatal hypoglycemia in infants of diabetic mothers affects subsequent neurological and intellectual performance. Thirty-seven such infants (25 hypoglycemic and 12 non-hypoglycemic) were examined for physical, neurological and developmental performance at an average age of 4 1/2 yr. Eleven children were abnormal, with generalized retardation and neurological abnormalities, or delays in particular areas of development; 3 children were possibly abnormal; and 23 children were normal. Abnormality at follow-up could not be related to neonatal blood glucose level, to the duration of hypoglycemia or to any other measurement made in the neonatal period, nor to any factor relating to the maternal diabetes. Compared with the normal children, the abnormal group had slightly smaller head-circumferences at birth relative to their gestational age, but at follow-up there was no difference in head size. At follow-up the children of diabetic mothers tended to be shorter than average. The poor prognosis of the infants was not due to brain damage caused by neonatal hypoglycemia.