Abstract
To determine the incidence of hypoglycemia in the large infant of the nondiabetic mother, 789 consecutive newborns with birth weight more than 3900 grams were screened at 1,2 & 4 hrs. postnatal age with a heel stick Dextrostix®. A serum glucose was obtained when the Dextrostix® was less than 45mg/dl.17 infants (2.2%) had a serum glucose less than 35mg/dl. One infant had group B streptococcal sepsis and another nesidioblastosis. No etiology for the hypoglycemia was evident in the remaining 15 infants. The average serum glucose of the 15 hypoglycemic infants was 21mg/dl ± 9 with 3 infants less than 10mg/dl. 5/5 infants tested were hyperinsulinemic while hypoglycemic. Only 1 infant was symptomatic. None of the 15 mothers had diabetes mellitus when carefully screened at the first prenatal visit and at 28 weeks gestation.
Each of the 15 hypoglycemic newborns was paired with 2 normoglycemic infants of equivalent birth weight and born the same month, and the groups compared. There were no differences in gestational age, apgar score, temperature, maternal age, maternal height, medications, IV fluids, or route of delivery. Maternal weight, however, at the first prenatal visit was significantly greater in the hypoglycemic group (88 kg ± 18) when compared to the normoglycemic group (65 kg ± 13)(P <.0001).
In summary, large infants born to obese mothers form a new group at risk for significant hypoglycemia.
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Werthammer, J., Wallace, L. HYPOGLYCEMIA IN LARGE INFANTS OF OBESE NONDIABETIC MOTHERS. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 355 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01571
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01571