Rise in pregnant women with diabetes, CDC figures reveal

The rate of women developing diabetes during pregnancy is on the rise in the US – putting more and more expectant mothers, and their babies, at mortal risk.

New CDC figures reveal a small but statistically significant increase in gestational diabetes between 2012 and 2016, inching up from 5.2 percent of pregnant women to 5.6 percent.  

Diabetes is fast becoming one of the biggest issues in delivery rooms as childbirth complications become less common but poor maternal health spreads. 

Experts say the figures hammer home the need to help women with access to physical activity, fresh food, and good healthcare before they start a family, to protect both mother and baby. 

GESTATIONAL DIABETES RATES (2016): This map shows the percentage rate of pregnant women diagnosed with diabetes while carrying a baby, with the lowest rate in DC and the highest in South Dakota

As of 2016, California had the lowest rate of underlying diabetes (0.5 percent) – diagnosed in mothers before pregnancy – while West Virginia (1.7 percent) had the highest, according to the data published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Oklahoma was the only state was a statistically significant decrease in pre-existing diabetes, dropping 0.4 percent (down from 1.2 percent to 0.9). 

When it came to gestational diabetes – diagnosed during pregnancy – Washington, D.C. had the lowest rate (3.4 percent) and South Dakota has the highest (9.2 percent).

There was some progress made: six states (New Hampshire, followed by Tennessee, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin and Massachusetts) saw significant decreases in gestational diabetes over the course of the four-year data set. 

However, most states (40) saw statistically significant increases – with the sharpest rises seen in Montana and Utah. 

Diabetes is a red flag for obstetricians as it can pave the way to cardiopulmonary problems in the third trimester – as was the case for Serena Williams, who revealed after giving birth to Alexis Olympia that she came close to death.   

The rise in underlying health issues is not helping America’s maternal mortality issue. The US is home to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. Twenty-five per 100,000 women die in childbirth in the US every year – more than double the rate in western Europe. The rate is highest for women of color. 

Historically, like in most countries, that was largely due to delivery complications including hemorrhages and infections.

As of last year that had shifted in America: traditional issues are now rare, but chronic underlying issues – such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease – are to blame for the majority of maternal deaths and complications in childbirth.

Dr Lindsay Admon, the University of Michigan researcher who documented that shift in a research paper last November, warns the issue will continue to grow unless more women have healthcare through their lifetime to treat underlying conditions before pregnancy – particularly low-income women. 

She also warns that this seems to be the start of a global trend due to lifestyle factors. We will likely see an increased rate of chronic underlying health issues in pregnant women all over the world.

PRE-EXISTING DIABETES (2016): This map shows the percentage rate of women who entered pregnancy already with a diabetes diagnosis. The highest rate was in West Virginia, and the lowest was in California

PRE-EXISTING DIABETES (2016): This map shows the percentage rate of women who entered pregnancy already with a diabetes diagnosis. The highest rate was in West Virginia, and the lowest was in California

‘In the US, we have passed the “obstetric transition” – fewer women are dying from traditional causes of death but more have pre-existing conditions, which they are dying from,’ Dr Admon told DailyMail.com.

‘I suspect that we have already started to see in developing nations a similar trend: improvements in maternal mortality from hemorrhage and infections but more and more facing pre-existing conditions.’  

However, the rates are rising faster than research – and much faster than policy changes. 

As for curbing the rates, the CDC’s MMWR report recommends ‘[s]tructured lifestyle change programs that promote a healthy diet and increase physical activity’ for people at high risk of developing diabetes.

‘However,’ the report adds, ‘additional research is needed to understand the most successful intervention designs.’ 

One proven helpful strategy is focusing on mothers after they give birth – a complicated phase in which women ‘face unique barriers to engaging in lifestyle interventions, including childcare responsibilities and time constraints’.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk