IMPACT OF GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS ON NEONATAL BIRTH WEIGHT, LENGTH, AND GESTATIONAL AGE: A RETROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY.

Abstract

Gestational diabetes (GDM) in pregnant women leads to the development of macrosomia in newborns and also influences the characteristics of neonatal length development. It is worth noting that findings regarding the association between GDM and gestational age at birth vary, and there is no evidence to support treating GDM as an independent risk factor for determining gestational age at birth. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of GDM on neonatal physical parameters, including birth weight and length, as well as gestational age at birth. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. A total of 220 pregnant women were evaluated: 110 with GDM and 110 healthy pregnant women. The newborns of both groups - those with GDM and the healthy controls - were also assessed. The data were processed using statistical analysis software. The chi-square (χ²) test for comparative analysis; a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Our study showed that newborns of mothers with GDM are at higher risk of developing either very high or low birth weight; in contrast, newborns of healthy mothers are predominantly born with a normal weight (OR=0.25, χ²=11.28, p=0.0036). GDM increases the risk of delivering newborns who are either very large or relatively short (95% CI=0.73; 3.68, OR=1.64, χ²=6.19, p=0.045); however, it should be noted that although deviations in length from the norm were observed more frequently in the GDM group, the Odds Ratio analysis did not confirm a statistically significant association. The difference in the distribution of gestational age at birth between newborns of mothers with GDM and healthy mothers is not statistically significant (χ²=1.33, p=0.515). The newborns are predominantly full-term, and the observed difference is minor and random in nature. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed statistical significance regarding weight (P<0.001), length (P=0.007), and gestational age at birth (P=0.008), while linear regression demonstrated a statistically significant effect of maternal age on fetal length (β=0.051; p=0.025). Based on the study results, we can conclude that GDM is associated with extreme physical parameters in newborns. Among these parameters, an increased risk of high birth weight was found to be closely linked to GDM. A strong association was also established between GDM and the length of newborns; specifically, cases of both short and long newborns are observed more frequently among mothers with GDM.