Comparative study on: morbidity and mortality among neonates of gestational and frank diabetic mothers.

The aim of this work was to study pregnancy outcome among gestational and frank diabetic mothers in comparison to non diabetic mothers. A case control study was done including all diabetic mothers who delivered in Ain Shams Maternity Hospital (ASMH) in 1992 plus an equal number of non diabetic mothers as a control group. Two hundred and three cases were delivered in ASMH during 1992; 132 of them were frank diabetics and 71 were gestational diabetics. It was found that there were no significant differences between neonates of gestational diabetic mothers (NGDM) and neonates of frank diabetic mothers (NFDM) regarding perinatal mortality rate, stillbirth rate, gestational age, mode of delivery and birth weight (p > 0.05). Meanwhile, there were significant differences between neonates of diabetic mothers and control group regarding all previous variables (p < 0.01). Macrosomia was found in 42.3% of NGDM and 9.9% of NFDM (p < 0.001). Low birth weight was found in 12.7% of NGDM and 0.8% of NFDM (p < 0.001). Respiratory distress was significantly higher in NGDM (16.9%) than NFDM (6.8%) (p < 0.05). Regarding metabolic disorders and sepsis, there were no significant differences between NGDM and NFDM, while there were significant differences between total neonates of diabetic mothers and among the control group (p < 0.05). It was concluded that gestational diabetes is as important as frank diabetes and even has a more dangerous sequel. It is recommended to pay more attention to diagnosis and management of gestational diabetes.