
Continuous glucose monitoring for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes reduces risk of complications for newborns
Continuous glucose monitoring for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes reduces risk of complications for newborns
Authors say that continuous glucose monitoring should be offered to all pregnant women with type 1 diabetes to reduce risk of complications for newborn babies
For women with type 1 diabetes, monitoring blood sugar levels continuously during pregnancy via an implanted device helps better manage the disease, and improves birth outcomes compared to traditional finger-prick tests, according to a new randomized trial published in The Lancet and presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) conference.
One in two newborns of women with type 1 diabetes may face complications as a result of being exposed to maternal high blood sugar levels, and there has been limited progress, with these birth outcomes not improving in the past 3-4 decades.
Complications can include congenital anomaly, premature birth, stillbirth, need for intensive care after birth, and being larger than average at birth for the baby, and higher rates of pre-eclampsia and Caesarean section for the mother.
The authors of the international trial say that, as a result of these findings, this type of monitoring should now be offered to all pregnant women with type 1 diabetes to help improve outcomes for newborns.
In the study, researchers trialled an implanted continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device that gives 288 glucose recordings per day, allowing users to recognise and respond to changes in blood sugar levels as they occur. They compared this with traditional monitori
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