Essay On Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, is a yellowish coloring of the baby’s skin and in the whites of the eyes. This occurs because the baby’s liver may not be sufficiently mature. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia occurs in approximately 25% of infants of diabetic mothers, a rate approximately double that for normal infants, with prematurity and polycythemia being the primary contributing factors (43.) Baby’s with jaundice will be monitored closely until resolved to avoid morbidity of kernicterus, seizures, or neurologic damage.
Infants of mothers who have gestational diabetes have a higher risk of developing obesity along with type 2 diabetes later in life. Evidence pointed toward an increase in adolescent and adult obesity among infants born LGA or macrosomic, particularly to women who had diabetes or were obese (44.) Between 50% and 90% of adolescents with T2DM have a BMI greater than 27, and 25% of obese children between 4 and

GDM usually disappears after the baby is born due to the placenta being removed, the hormones it was producing, which caused the insulin resistance, are also removed. If the blood sugar does not return to normal, it may indicate that the patient may have had diabetes before pregnancy.
Women should have their blood sugars checked at least once per year and also try to maintain a healthy lifestyle to lessen chances of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. It is important to remember to check blood sugar before patients become pregnant again. Women who have diabetes before pregnancy have an increased risk for pregnancy complications. Elevated maternal blood sugar during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, when major organs are developing, increases risks to the fetus. By normalizing blood sugar before becoming pregnant, women can help improve changes of having a healthy baby.