Fat Moms, Fat Babies

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Did you know that fetuses are 5X more likely to be excessively large by 28 weeks if women have both obesity and gestational diabetes, compared to babies born to moms without either condition?
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Children in utero are supplied with nutrients from the mom in proportion to the level of nutrients in her blood. The higher the mom’s blood sugar, the more glucose to the womb. As the pancreas in the baby develops, it responds to this higher dose of glucose by developing more insulin-producing cells. So, the higher the blood sugar in the mom, the more insulin the child will produce as it gets close to birth. The baby will be born with more fat, with a tendency to over-produce insulin and become insulin resistant as it gets older.
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With so many potentially harmful changes to a fetus of an over-fat mother as well as potential serious medical issues for the mother, women who are contemplating pregnancy should plan ahead and lose weight now. This will give them the best chance to create the optimal environment in which to conceive and carry to term a healthy baby.