Objective: Differences in weight and body composition have been reported between infants of nondiabetic and diabetic mothers. These differences may explain the propensity for shoulder dystocia in the diabetic population. We investigated whether differences in anthropometric measurements still exist between infants of nondiabetic and diabetic mothers following strict glycemic control.
Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. The study group included infants of well-controlled gestational diabetic mothers (mean capillary glucose less than 100 mg/dL). Controls were infants of nondiabetic mothers matched for gender, gestational age, ethnicity, and birth weight. Only singleton term pregnancies were included. Both groups were studied within 24 hours of delivery. The following measurements were obtained: birth weight, infant length, femur length, head, chest, abdomen and thigh circumferences, and biacromial distance. Student t tests were used to compare the measured parameters between groups. P < .05 was considered significant. A sample size of 63 subjects in each group was needed to demonstrate a difference of 0.5 cm (+/- 1.0 cm) of the biacromial distance between the 2 groups, which we considered clinically significant, with a probability of 95% and power of 80%.
Results: Sixty seven infants in each group were included in the study. Anthropometric measurements did not differ significantly between the groups. We did a secondary analysis on neonates who weighed 4,000 g or more at birth. Anthropometric measurements again did not differ significantly between the groups.
Conclusion: Anthropometric measurements of infants of mothers with well-controlled gestational diabetes do not differ from infants of nondiabetic mothers.
Level of evidence: II-2.