Birth Weight and the Survival of Babies of Diabetic Women

Abstract

The fetus of a diabetic woman, cribbed and forcibly fed with glucose in utero, may become excessively large partly because of increased insulin activity and partly perhaps for genetic and other reasons. Where obstetric care is good, however, the larger baby has a better immediate prognosis than the smaller one. There may be an as yet unrecognized factor independent of diabetic control which is harmful to the fetus and which is more active in some women than in others. This may exert its effect upon the small blood vessels of the placenta.