(ORDO NEWS) — Many women gain weight during pregnancy, but doctors say that in no case should it be brought to obesity. This threatens with health problems not only for the woman in labor, but also for her child.
According to WHO, about 13 percent of the world‘s adult population is obese. This problem is especially true in low-income countries, where patients often do not have access to quality food.
Naturally, some pregnant women also suffer from obesity, which leads to numerous complications – from intrauterine death of the fetus to problems during childbirth.
Previous studies examining the effects of obesity on pregnancy have been among women in high-income countries, and the effects of obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM (which develops during pregnancy and can lead to type 2 diabetes in the mother), have analyzed separately.
However, an international team of researchers from South Africa and the UK decided to study the simultaneous impact of GDM and obesity on maternal and child health among South African women, who are particularly overweight.
A total of 71 women of African or mixed ancestry participated in the study, of whom 52 were obese and 38 developed GDM.
The scientists conducted clinical profiling, deep structural study and molecular analysis of the placenta, as well as biochemical measurements of mother and child umbilical cord blood, to study the impact of obesity and GDM on the health of both.
The most important finding was that obesity had a greater effect on the overall health of the pregnant woman and the developing fetus than GDM, as mothers with this diagnosis had a relatively smaller placenta with less dense blood vessels, and a lower rate of nutrient exchange between the woman and the child.
In addition, both obesity and GDM affected cord blood composition, placental hormone production, and inflammatory biomarkers, potentially leading to placental rejection and death in utero.
The main limitation of the study was the relatively small sample size, so in the future, scientists intend to significantly expand it to include more women with normal weight, overweight and obesity, with and without GDM.
It also plans to study the impact of drugs that lower blood sugar levels on the health of mother and child in the long term.
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