Infants of diabetic mothers: a prospective study of neonatal complications in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Complications in 42 newborn infants of diabetic mothers (IDM), both insulin- and non-insulin-dependent, were studied prospectively over a period of 16 months at Harare Maternity Hospital. Hypoglycaemia, the most common complication observed, was present in 23 (55%): only seven of these were symptomatic. In 21 of these 23 cases, blood glucose was stabilized during the first 24 hours of life. Jaundice and transient tachypnoea were each seen in 12 cases (29%). There were no cases of respiratory distress syndrome. One infant had polycythaemia requiring partial exchange transfusion. No life-threatening congenital malformations were seen. All infants were given special care initially and in the majority of cases this could be discontinued after 24 hours. With simple interventions, the morbidity of IDM born was found to be comparable to levels reported from developed countries.