The researchers studied the records of all diabetic pregnancies during 1994 in the former Northern regional health authority and compared them with non-diabetic pregnancies in the same region. They found that the perinatal mortality rate among children born to diabetic mothers was five times higher, the neonatal mortality rate 15 times higher, and the congenital malformation rate four times higher than in the general population. There was also a substantial excess of premature births among diabetic mothers. The outcome of diabetic pregnancy remains poor, they conclude. Though two thirds of the pregnancies were planned by the mother, most women had not established good diabetic control before conception.
Preconceptual care reduces major congenital malformations and the spontaneous abortion rate.
It is essential that we should improve delivery of this cost effective care. Pregnancy outcomes in Scandinavia have improved to the extent that, in Sweden, the rate of spontaneous abortion is similar between diabetic and non-diabetic women, and rates of congenital malformation have more than halved. It would seem, says the author, that regular blood sugar monitoring among women who are pregnant or planning to be so should ensure that the St. Vincent's target would be reached. Any question regarding a medical diagnosis, treatment, referral, drug availability or pricing should be directed to either a licensed physician or to the product's manufacturer.