SOME ASPECTS OF CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM IN PREGNANCY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE ENERGY METABOLISM AND HORMONAL STATUS OF THE INFANT OF THE DIABETIC WOMAN AND THE DIABETOGENIC EFFECT OF PREGNANCY
CONTENTS Introduction Effect on the foetus of diabetic diathesis in the mother Size Energy metabolism and hormonal status Normal newborn infant Infant of diabetic mother: Blood glucose and free fatty acids Hyperinsulinism Hyperglycaemia Growth hormone Synalbumin antagonist Adrenal cortex Adrenal medulla High perinatal mortality Congenital abnormalities Later incidence of clinical diabetes The diabetogenic effect of pregnancy on the mother Changes in glucose tolerance in normal pregnancy; criteria of normality; diagnosis of prediabetes Plasma insulin in normal pregnancy Glucose tolerance and plasma insulin in gestational diabetes Parity and the development of diabetes INTRODUCTION The subject of pregnancy and diabetes can be considered from two main points of view: that of the baby and that of the mother. There is no doubt that the children born to diabetic mothers (both before and after the development of clinical diabetes) commonly exceed the mean body weight for their gestational age, have a characteristic appearance,