Comparison of Anthropometric Measurements of Infants Born to Bahraini Mothers with and Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)

Abstract

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is a major cause of morbidity and mortality to both mother and fetus. It is defined as the development of hyperglycemia during pregnancy in women who were not previously diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) (1). Diagnosis usually occurs during the 24^th to 28^th weeks of gestation (1). The prevalence of GDM varies worldwide and was reported to be in Bahrain in 2012 at 10.1% of pregnancies, which was increased from 7.2% in 2002 (6). For this study, a total sample of 10,865 patients was used, dating from May 2016 to January 2020. The sample size is set in King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH), Kingdom of Bahrain. They were chosen based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data collected included the GDM status of the mother (GDM or Non-GDM), gestational age of the fetus (weeks), birth weight (grams) of the fetus, length (centimeters) of the fetus, head circumference (centimeters) of the fetus and placental weight (grams) upon delivery. In our study, the results showed an increase in anthropometric measurements in infants born to GDM mothers. 10 out of 200 (5%) neonates had a macrocosmic birth weight in GDM infants. However, when comparing to the birth weight, p= 0.940 was found, showing a non-significant difference between both groups. There was a faster acceleration in head circumference in neonates born to mothers with GDM, and there was no significant difference in average head circumference between both groups. Moreover, 153 out of 200 (76%) of the GDM group had a placental weight of more than 500 grams, whereas 179 out of 200 (89.5%) of the non-GDM group had a placental weight of more than 500 grams. GDM is a common yet serious complication encountered throughout pregnancy, most commonly via routine screening. One of the commonly observed outcomes of GDM in pregnancy is increased fetal growth through various mechanisms, which can result in an increased risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. This study helps to reaffirm that routine screening of GDM is required, and perhaps placental weight is another factor to be taken into consideration after further study as an indicator of fetal growth and GDM progression.