[Does Delivery During Holidays Increase the Risk of Neonatal Hypoglycemia in Women with Gestational Diabetes?].
Throughout the 9-months of pregnancy, a woman with gestational diabetes (GDM) is expected to celebrate holidays, which makes coping with diabetes difficult and alters routine glucose control.
We hypothesized that delivery in the first week following a holiday, might be associated with altered glucose homeostasis, causing more neonatal hypoglycemia.
A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary center between the years 2007-2023. Eligible patients were women with a term singleton pregnancy, diagnosed with GDM. Women were allocated into two groups based on the date of their delivery in relation to holidays, in the first week following a holiday (group 1) and at times unrelated to holidays (group 2). The primary outcome was the incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia, defined as a glucose level of less than 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) within 24 hours of birth.
We analyzed 332 cases of GDM and 3,179 GDM control cases. Diet-controlled GDM represented most of our cohort (85%), and the mean blood glucose was tightly kept around 100 mg/dl throughout the labor. Baseline maternal and neonatal demographics were comparable between the groups. The incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia did not differ between the two groups, reaching 3.3% in the study group and 4.9% in the control group (p=0.19). The mean neonatal blood glucose at the nursery was also comparable between the groups, 63 ± 10.1 versus 63.2 ± 10.9 (p=0.95), respectively. GDM patients in group 1 had a higher rate of third- or fourth-degree perineal lacerations than group 2 (1.8% vs. 0.8%, p=0.04).
Our findings reassure us that major holidays, when occurring within a week of delivery, do not adversely impact neonatal outcomes in women with GDM.
Management of gestational diabetes during holiday periods may be challenging; however, delivery close to holidays does not increase the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia. Delivery during holiday periods does not increase the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia in women with gestational diabetes.
We hypothesized that delivery in the first week following a holiday, might be associated with altered glucose homeostasis, causing more neonatal hypoglycemia.
A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary center between the years 2007-2023. Eligible patients were women with a term singleton pregnancy, diagnosed with GDM. Women were allocated into two groups based on the date of their delivery in relation to holidays, in the first week following a holiday (group 1) and at times unrelated to holidays (group 2). The primary outcome was the incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia, defined as a glucose level of less than 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) within 24 hours of birth.
We analyzed 332 cases of GDM and 3,179 GDM control cases. Diet-controlled GDM represented most of our cohort (85%), and the mean blood glucose was tightly kept around 100 mg/dl throughout the labor. Baseline maternal and neonatal demographics were comparable between the groups. The incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia did not differ between the two groups, reaching 3.3% in the study group and 4.9% in the control group (p=0.19). The mean neonatal blood glucose at the nursery was also comparable between the groups, 63 ± 10.1 versus 63.2 ± 10.9 (p=0.95), respectively. GDM patients in group 1 had a higher rate of third- or fourth-degree perineal lacerations than group 2 (1.8% vs. 0.8%, p=0.04).
Our findings reassure us that major holidays, when occurring within a week of delivery, do not adversely impact neonatal outcomes in women with GDM.
Management of gestational diabetes during holiday periods may be challenging; however, delivery close to holidays does not increase the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia. Delivery during holiday periods does not increase the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia in women with gestational diabetes.
Authors
Bachar Bachar, Ben David Ben David, Davidor Davidor, Justman Justman, Vitner Vitner, Khatib Khatib, Abu Rass Abu Rass, Solt Solt, Zipori Zipori
View on Pubmed