Placental volume relative to fetal weight estimated by sonography in diabetic pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to analyze the fetal weight and placental volume (PV) ratio in diabetic pregnancies during mid-pregnancy.

METHOD: One hundred and forty nine diabetic pregnancies [75 gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 74 diabetes mellitus type I (T1DM) with good glycemic control] and 232 healthy patients were analyzed by three-dimensional sonographic volumetry of the placenta, while fetal weight was estimated by two-dimensional technique.

RESULTS

The gestational age-specific estimated fetal weight (EFW) [EFWGDM: 1840.8 ± 932.82 g; EFWT1DM: 1475.6 ± 914.7 g (mean ± standard deviation) and placental ratio (PR)] was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in pregnancies complicated by GDM and T1DM (PRGDM: 5.5 ± 1.67 g/cm(3), PRT1DM: 4.56 ± 3.2 g/cm(3)) compared to control group (Q) (EFWQ: 532 ± 186.49 g; PRQ: 2.2 ± 0.8 g/cm(3)), whereas PV was significantly higher (p < 0.05) only in GDM (PVGDM: 334.3 ± 111.5 cm(3)) compared to control data (PVQ: 232 ± 78.9 cm(3)). In contrast to GDM, T1DM with good glycemic control did not predispose to any changes in placental sonographic volumetric differences compared to control values.

CONCLUSIONS

Fetal weight related to the PV is already elevated in second trimester in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus and type I diabetes mellitus compared to normal pregnancies.