According to a study conducted by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women who have diabetes before becoming pregnant are three to four times more likely to giving birth a baby with at least one birth defect.
This is the first study of its kind that classify a wide range of birth defects that are linked with pre-pregnancy diagnosis of 1 or type2 diabetes, i.e., brain and spine defects, heart defects, oral clefts, limb deficiencies, kidney and gastrointestinal tract defects.
The research has been published in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Lead Author of the study Dr. Adolfo Correa, who is an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, says in this connection “This growing link between diabetes and a lot of birth defects shows how important it is for the women to receive the best possible preconception care and particularly for those who are found with diabetes.”
