•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for neonatal hypoglycemia. Although placenta and placenta weight-to-birth ratio are considered to have a role in the pathophysiology of neonatal morbidities, including hypoglycemia, their relation to infants of diabetic mothers is not completely elucidated yet. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of placenta weight and the placenta weight-to-birth weight ratio with neonatal hypoglycemia and early morbidities. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted with infants born to mothers diagnosed with GDM, with a gestational age of ≥35 weeks. Demographic and clinical data, including maternal age, maternal HbA1c, mode of delivery, gestational age, birth weight, sex, and neonatal morbidities such as hypoglycemia and perinatal asphyxia, were recorded. Blood glucose levels were measured at predefined time points: at birth (within the first 30 minutes) and at the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 24th hours of life. Associations between placenta weight, placenta weight-to-birth weight ratio (PBWR), and neonatal outcomes were evaluated using Pearson or Spearman correlation analyses and multiple linear regression models adjusting for potential confounders, including gestational age, birth weight, maternal glycemic control (HbA1c), and mode of delivery, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: This study included 98 mother–infant dyads. Although placenta weight showed a weak inverse correlation with blood glucose levels within the first 30 minutes (r = -0.204, p = 0.044), neither placenta weight nor the placenta weight-to-birth weight ratio demonstrated a statistically significant association with overall neonatal hypoglycemia in our cohort (adjusted effect estimate: 1.0, 95% CI (0.99-1.00), p = 0.99). In multiple linear regression models adjusting for covariates, gestational age (beta = -0.21, p = 0.036) and birth weight (beta = 0.50, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of placenta weight, whereas gestational age was the sole independent predictor of PBWR (beta = -0.27, p = 0.011). Neither placenta weight nor PBWR significantly predicted neonatal hypoglycemia or subsequent glucose levels (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study shows that placenta weight and the placenta-to-birth weight ratio are correlated with gestational age and birth weight, but they are not significantly associated with early neonatal glycemic adaptation or hypoglycemia in pregnancies with GDM. Hence, additional research with larger sample sizes is required to clarify the influence of placenta weight on infants of mothers with gestational diabetes.

Download

Share

COinS