Hypoglycemia is relatively common in diabetics. It occurs when too much insulin or oral antidiabetic medication is taken, not enough food is eaten, or from a sudden increase in the amount of exercise without increasing the intake of food.
Relative hypoglycemia is a fairly common occurrence in the newborn.
If the mother's blood sugar was persistently high, the infant's pancreas assisted in controlling the excess blood sugar by secreting extra insulin. When the infant is born, that maternal blood sugar is no longer available and the increased insulin drives the infant's blood sugar down to dangerous levels. This is a medical emergency that may result in seizures and neurological damage if not treated. In this case, people who are not diabetic and who do not have other known causes of hypoglycemia experience symptoms of the disorder. Hypoglycemia can occur because of an insulin-secreting tumor of the pancreas, liver disease , or as a response to the ingestion of alcohol .