Pregnancy outcome in undiagnosed gestational diabetes

Objective: to investigate the outcomes of macrosomia and compare the risk factors associated with neonatal and maternal complications between mothers with gestational diabetes (gdm) and non-gdm mothers, and determine whether it is important to screen for gdm before birth. methodology: we sampled the venous blood of the mothers of 120 macrosomic neonates in the first 24 hours after delivery, and assessed glycohemoglobin (hba1c) levels. a diagnosis of gdm was based on a hba1c>5.9%. results: twenty-three (19%) mothers had an hgba1c>5.9%. maternal and neonatal complications were not significantly different in undiagnosed gdm and non-gdm women. except for the mother’s age, parity, and bmi, other risk factors for the development of gdm didn’t differ significantly between the two groups. conclusions: the frequency of neonatal and maternal complications associated with the birth of macrosomic neonates are not significantly different between gdm and non-gdm mothers. hence, the universal screening of pregnant women for gdm is not recommended.