Numbers rocket upward, health experts concerned
(AP) -- A California study suggests the number of pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes has more than doubled in seven years, while the number of diabetic teenagers giving birth has rocketed fivefold.
An expert on diabetes and pregnancy says the women represent "high-risk" pregnancies. Expectant mothers who don't control their diabetes face an increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth and their babies have a higher chance of being born with birth defects. The study, compiled by researchers at health care provider Kaiser Permanente and funded by the American Diabetes Association, looked at the records of more than 175,000 women who gave birth from 1999 to 2005. The number of pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes was small. In 1999, there were 245 such women; by 2005, there were 537.
The rise of diabetes among women of childbearing age mirrors the prevalence of the disease in the general population.
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