Pre-Pregnancy Diabetes Rates Have Doubled

“The number of women starting their pregnancies with type 1 or type 2 diabetes has doubled since 1999, but rates of gestational diabetes have stayed the same, new research finds. In some age groups, the results were even worse. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente found that the number of teenagers who had diabetes before birth jumped fivefold. ‘It's important to recognize with the increase in overweight and obesity, more women than ever will be entering their reproductive years with diabetes,’ said study author Jean Lawrence, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, in Bellflower, Calif. And, she added, ‘having diabetes during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage early in pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth later in pregnancy. It also increases the chances of having a baby with birth defects, and it may result in larger babies and more difficult deliveries.’ Results of the study are published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.”

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