Assessment of the Relation between Fetal Hemodynamic Indices in Late Pregnancy and Birth Weight in Gestational Diabetic Mellitus Mothers: A correlational study

Abstract

Background: The offspring of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are prone to macrosomia. However, birth weight is difficult to be correctly estimated by ultrasound because of fetal asymmetric growth characteristics. This study aimed at investigating the correlations between fetal hemodynamics, fetal growth indices in late pregnancy and birth weight in GDM. Methods: A total of 180 women with GDM and 180 normal controls (NC) with singleton gestation and presented between 38-40 weeks gestation were enrolled in this study. Fetal hemodynamic indices, including the systolic/diastolic ratio (S/D), resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI) of umbilical artery (UA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), and renal artery (RA), were collected. Fetal growth indices, including biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), and femur length (FL), were also measured by ultrasound. Birth weight, mode of delivery and need for Neonatal ICU admission data were collected. Results: The independent samples t-test showed that BPD, HC, AC and FL were larger in GDM than in NC (P 0.05). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed in GDM group that there was a highly statistically significant negative correlation between birth weight and the following ultrasound indices: (UA_RI, UA_S/D, UA_PI, MCA_RI and MCA_PI) and that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between birth weight & RA_RI (P 0.05). Conclusions: Fetal hemodynamic indices in late pregnancy might be helpful for estimating newborn birth weight in women with GDM.