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Article: Pre-pregnancy diabetes raises risk of birth defects.(HEALTH FINDINGS: The latest public health studies and research)
- Article from:
- The Nation's Health
- Article date:
- October 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 The Nation's Health. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Women diagnosed with diabetes before they become pregnant are three times to four times more likely to give birth to a child with one or even multiple birth defects than a nondiabetic mother, according to a study in the Aug. 1 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found pregestational diabetes greatly increases the odds of birth defects, including heart defects, defects of the brain and spine, oral clefts, defects of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract and limb deficiencies.
"Early and effective management of diabetes for pregnant women is critical in helping to not only prevent birth ...