Weight gain before second pregnancy ups risk of diabetes

Beware would-be-mothers, a study has warned that increasing Body Mass Index (BMI) above one unit from first to second pregnancy increases the risk of diabetes, no matter if you are overweight or not.

According to researchers, the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) drastically increases with weight gain between pregnancies.

The diabetes may cause a faster growth of the baby and can cause health problems for both mothers and babies, during birth due to the size of the baby.

Researcher Linn Marie Sorbye from the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway said that women who were overweight at first pregnancy had the highest risk of GDM. However, the strongest risk associated with weight gain between pregnancies was found in women with BMI less than 25 in first pregnancy.

"Suprisingly, we found a preventive effect of GDM in overweight women who reduced their BMI more than two units from first to second pregnancy", Sorbye explained.

The team analysed 24,198 mothers with a first and second pregnancy between 2006 and 2014.

The data included BMI at the start of each pregnancy as well as any diagnosis of GDM.

Overweight is defined as BMI of 25 kg/m2 or more.

GDM is defined as glucose intolerance of various degrees that is first detected during pregnancy.

Both pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain are known risk factors for GDM.

"We have little knowledge of the underlying mechanisms behind GDM, but we know that the disease has increased over time," Sorbye stated.

The researchers noted that antenatal guidelines for monitoring GDM in pregnancy should add inter-pregnancy weight change as an independent risk factor for diabetes with a routine stress-test of glucose tolerance during pregnancy in women with weight gain more than one BMI unit.

The study appears in journal PLOS Medicine. 

-ANI