Diabetes Increases Risk of Birth Defects
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 3:44 PM PST
Thomas Barwick
Does the disease up your chances of having a baby with birth defects?
In a new study published in the, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers found that women who had diabetes before becoming pregnant had three times the risk of delivering a baby with birth defects than women who did not have diabetes.
Dr. Adolfo Correa of the Centers for Disease Control told Reuters that the study "documents the fact that diabetes is associated
with a wider range of defects than we had been aware of in the
past."
Defects included those involving the heart, brain, spine, arms and legs, kidneys, and digestive tract. Cleft palate was another defect mentioned in the study.
"Preconception care is not reaching all women with diabetes
the way it ought to. And given the increasing prevalence of
diabetes, including diabetes among women of reproductive age in
this country and in many parts of the world, this is a call to
action to the clinical and public health communities to come up
with more effective prevention measures," Correa told Reuters.
Posted Sunday, Jul 19, 2009 - 1:22 PM PST
