Over- and Undernutrition
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and
Macrosomia: A Literature Review
Kamana KC a, b Sumisti Shakya c Hua Zhang a, b
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, b Canada-China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory of Maternal and
Fetal Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, and c Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing , PR China
Key Messages
� Fetal macrosomia, resulting from fetal
hyperinsulinemia in response to maternal diabetes,
might be a predictor of later glucose intolerance.
� Maternal diabetes during pregnancy can lead to a
transgenerational transmission of diabetes risk.
� Fetuses of obese women with gestational diabetes
mellitus have a higher risk of developing macrosomia
than those of nonobese women with gestational
diabetes mellitus.�ٴ��t'
Key Words
Gestational diabetes mellitus �E Large for gestational age �E
Macrosomia �E Hyperglycemia �E Obesity �E Pregnancy �E
Epigenetics
Abstract
Background: Fetal macrosomia, defined as a birth weight
. 4,000 g, may affect 12% of newborns of normal women and
15.45% of newborns of women with gestational diabetes
mellitus (GDM). The increased risk of macrosomia in GDM is
mainly due to the increased insulin resistance of the mother.
In GDM, a higher amount of blood glucose passes through
the placenta into the fetal circulation. As a result, extra glu
cose in the fetus is stored as body fat causing macrosomia,
which is also called �large for gestational age�. This paper reviews
studies that explored the impact of GDM and fetal
macrosomia as well as macrosomia-related complications
on birth outcomes and offers an evaluation of maternal and
fetal health. Summary: Fetal macrosomia is a common adverse
infant outcome of GDM if unrecognized and untreated
in time. For the infant, macrosomia increases the risk of
shoulder dystocia, clavicle fractures and brachial plexus injury
and increases the rate of admissions to the neonatal intensive
care unit. For the mother, the risks associated with
macrosomia are cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage
and vaginal lacerations. Infants of women with GDM are at
an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese at a
young age (during adolescence) and are more likely to develop
type II diabetes later in life. Besides, the findings of
several studies that epigenetic alterations of different genes
of the fetus of a GDM mother in utero could result in the
transgenerational transmission of GDM and type II diabetes
are of concern.
Introduction
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as glucose
intolerance of variable degrees with an onset, or first
recognized, during pregnancy. About 15�45% of babies
born to diabetic mothers can have macrosomia, which is�