Early screening for diabetes could reduce stillbirths

New research, funded by the charity SANDS, has indicated that early testing for gestational diabetes may help to reduce the risk of stillbirth as well as other related health problems. Current practice is that pregnant women who present with one or more known risk factors are tested for gestational diabetes at around 28 weeks, but this study suggests bringing that screening forward.

In the study, it was found that when assessing the size of babies at a 20-week scan, no differences were seen when comparing women with gestational diabetes and those without gestational diabetes. However, when re-assessing at a 28-week scan, babies of mothers who had gestational diabetes presented with a larger than normal size (termed ‘large for gestational age’). This indicates that the effects of gestational diabetes on a baby’s size occurs prior to the 28th week, and thus earlier testing could help to start treatment earlier and reduce risk factors to both mother and baby.

If a mother has gestational diabetes, a higher level of sugar (glucose) is found in both the mother’s and baby’s blood. This can lead to the baby growing large for gestational age, placing both the mother and baby at risk during pregnancy and labour for example babies measuring large for gestational age are at an increased risk of stillbirth. There is also risk in childhood, as those who have been exposed to higher blood sugar levels during a pregnancy, are more likely to become obese as children. Further research into the effects of earlier testing is now the next step for this new finding.

Janet Scott, Research and Prevention Lead for the stillbirth charity Sands comments: “We know that good risk assessment is crucial to avoiding harm to mothers and babies. We welcome these important findings, which show that it may be possible to reduce the risks from gestational diabetes with more timely identification and intervention.  We are delighted to have supported this research, funded by donations from bereaved families.”

This research was carried out by the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Cambridge, and was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Cambridge Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre and Sands.

 
For more information, see the study here

or a summary from SANDS here