Introduction:

Multiple investigations show the teratogenic effect of diabetes mellitus during pregnancy, being considered a frequent cause of fetal morbidity.

Objective:

To describe the characteristics of the offspring of women with pregestacional or gestational diabetes who received attention at the Hospital Provincial Comandante Ciro Redondo García of Artemisa.

Methods:

An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted in Artemisa Province, Cuba, in the period from February 2016 to February 2018, with 316 pregnant women with diabetes mellitus. The information was obtained through documentary review and interview; the data were kept in an Excel spreadsheet.

Results:

69.9 % of the studied diabetic patients presented morbidities in their offspring, among which congenital defects predominated, accounting for 139 cases; 34 were macrosomic neonates; 21 were preterm; 9 presented intrauterine growth retardation; and 5 died within one year of life. Diabetes, both pregestational and gestational, was associated with conditions in the offspring; however, adequate preconception control of the disease reduced the risk for having affected children. Congenital defects were the most frequent alteration when the mother had pregestational diabetes. If maternal diabetes was gestational, the offspring frequently presented macrosomia and other associated anomalies.

Conclusions:

About 70 out of 100 diabetic women present morbidities in their offspring. If maternal diabetes is not controlled before conception, these morbidities in their offspring are predominantly congenital defects with a possible disruptive origin, while gestational diabetes is more related to macrosomic newborns.

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