PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Gestational diabetes increases the risk of fetal hypoxia during labor

2021-06-22
(Press-News.org) In Finland, every fifth mother was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in 2019. The condition increases the mother's risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. However, the most significant consequence of gestational diabetes is fetal macrosomia, or excessive growth of the fetus. Macrosomia increases birth injuries for both the child and the mother, causes fetal hypoxia, that is, a lack of oxygen in the fetus, and increases labour-related complications for the newborn.

A research group active at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital demonstrated that the mother's gestational diabetes is an independent factor that increases the risk of fetal hypoxia, during labour. The peer-reviewed study was published in the Acta Diabetologica.

Another finding was that gestational diabetes increased the susceptibility of the fetus to intrapartal hypoxia, regardless of the size of the fetus.

"The risk of hypoxia and the resulting risk of poor condition in newborn infants was nearly seven-fold in the fetuses of mothers with gestational diabetes compared to the fetuses of non-diabetic mothers," says researcher Mikko Tarvonen. According to the findings, the risk of needing to perform resuscitation on the newborn was ten-fold.

Hypoxia has short-term and long-term effects to the fetus and newborn infant, and, in the worst case, it can lead to brain damage and the death of the fetus.

"Damage caused by hypoxia is a source of suffering for the child and their family. In addition, the cost of treating hypoxia-related injuries is extremely high for society," Tarvonen says.

Monitoring the fetal heart rate exposes the risk of hypoxia

A lack of oxygen in the fetus can be identified by recording the fetal heart rate during labour. A zigzag pattern, meaning an increased variability of fetal heart rate, indicates the onset of hypoxia in both normal pregnancies and those complicated by gestational diabetes.

Cardiotocography (CTG), or the electronic monitoring of the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions, is a routine precautionary measure carried out during labour in all hospital deliveries in Finland. For the time being, gestational diabetes treated by diet has not been an indication for continuous CTG monitoring during labour.

"Based on our findings, intensified CTG monitoring during labour is well indicated during labour of women with gestational diabetes. This would enable the early detection of a zigzag pattern, ensuring the safety of the delivery and birth," Tarvonen says.

When monitoring the fetal heart rate during labour, the mother's wishes and experiences must be taken into consideration as well.

"The CTG monitoring somewhat reduces the ability of the mother to move during labour. On the basis of our findings, fetal monitoring could in the future be more clearly targeted to fetuses which would benefit from closer monitoring," Tarvonen points out.

"The treatment and monitoring of gestational diabetes is a multiprofessional cooperation where the focus is on the mother, the fetus and the child. Hopefully, the new findings will increase the safety of deliveries - both in terms of preventing fetal hypoxia and enhancing the mother's feelings of safety," he adds.

Healthy living habits help to prevent gestational diabetes

Being overweight, insufficient physical activity and an unhealthy diet are significant risk factors associated with gestational diabetes. Prior research has shown that such risks can be considerably reduced during pregnancy by healthy living habits and maintaining a good blood glucose level.

"There are also women of normal weight among those with gestational diabetes, in whom an underlying genetic predisposition is likely. Still, they too benefit from being sufficiently physically active and having healthy living habits," Tarvonen adds.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Illuminating the mechanism behind how plants regulate starch synthesis

Illuminating the mechanism behind how plants regulate starch synthesis
2021-06-22
In a world-first, a Kobe University research group led by Associate Professor FUKAYAMA Hiroshi of the Graduate School of Agricultural Science has used rice to successfully illuminate the mechanism by which plants regulate the amount of starch produced via photosynthesis. This knowledge could contribute towards improving the quality and yield of agricultural crops. These research results were published in the international scientific journal Plant, Cell & Environment on May 14, 2021. Main Points Plants convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic substances ...

Sports: Men and women react differently to a missing audience

2021-06-22
Without an audience, men run slower and women faster: The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Psychology of Sport and Exercise shows. According to the new analysis, women also performed better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not. Social facilitation theory states that a person's performance is impacted if other people watch them. The mere presence of an audience improves the performance of simple tasks, especially those that require stamina. "The studies have been relatively clear so far, but the results are more heterogeneous when it comes to more complex ...

USC study shows inherited risk of early-onset cancer is higher among minority families

USC study shows inherited risk of early-onset cancer is higher among minority families
2021-06-22
Increased risk of cancer due to a genetic predisposition in first- and second-degree relatives is long-established but has previously only been studied in white or European populations. Now, a new study published in eLife is the first to demonstrate that the inherited risk of early-onset cancer is significantly higher among Latino and African American families for solid tumors, and Asian/Pacific Islander families for blood-based cancers, compared to non-Latino white families in California. "Cancer clustering within families, meaning the devastating diagnosis of more than one early-onset cancer within the same family, usually points ...

Mushroom growing out of fossilized ant reveals new genus and species of fungal parasite

Mushroom growing out of fossilized ant reveals new genus and species of fungal parasite
2021-06-22
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University research has identified the oldest known specimen of a fungus parasitizing an ant, and the fossil also represents a new fungal genus and species. "It's a mushroom growing out of a carpenter ant," said OSU's George Poinar Jr., an international expert in using plant and animal life forms preserved in amber to learn about the biology and ecology of the distant past. A mushroom is the reproductive structure of many fungi, including the ones you find growing in your yard, and Poinar and a collaborator in France named their discovery Allocordyceps baltica. They found the ...

'Urban green space affects citizens' happiness'

Urban green space affects citizens happiness
2021-06-22
A recent study revealed that as a city becomes more economically developed, its citizens' happiness becomes more directly related to the area of urban green space. A joint research project by Professor Meeyoung Cha of the School of Computing and her collaborators studied the relationship between green space and citizen happiness by analyzing big data from satellite images of 60 different countries. Urban green space, including parks, gardens, and riversides not only provides aesthetic pleasure, but also positively affects our health by promoting ...

Urban green space brings happiness when money can't buy it anymore

Urban green space brings happiness when money cant buy it anymore
2021-06-22
Urban green spaces, such as parks, backyards, riverbanks, and urban farmlands, are thought to contribute to citizen happiness by promoting physical and mental health. While a number of previous studies have reported the mental bene?ts of green space, most had been conducted in the affluent parts of the world like the United States and Europe, and only a few involved a multi-country setting. Lack of data had been the main limitation in carrying out these studies because there is no global medical dataset that can provide reliable and standardized mental health surveys from different countries. Another challenge involves a systematic method to measure the amount of green space across countries. Various methods of measuring ...

Future of perovskite solar cells shines a little brighter

2021-06-22
Solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, have long been part of the global vision for renewable energy. Although individual cells are very small, when upscaled to modules, they can be used to charge batteries and power lights. If laid side-by-side, they could, one day, be the primary energy source for buildings. But the solar cells currently on the market utilize silicon, which makes them expensive to fabricate when compared to more traditional power sources. That's where another, relatively new-to-science, material comes in - metal halide perovskite. When nestled at the center of a solar cell, this crystalline structure also ...

New crab species with asymmetrical reproductive units described by Singapore-Japan team

New crab species with asymmetrical reproductive units described by Singapore-Japan team
2021-06-22
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of the Ryukyus has recently identified and described a bizarre new genus and species of xanthid crab found in Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Named Mabui calculus, it is unique among the 7,800 species of known crabs in having strongly asymmetrical male and female reproductive structures! "Male crabs have a pair of reproductive parts called gonopods while females have a pair of vulvae. All crabs mate in the 'missionary position', so the gonopods pump sperm into females for internal fertilisation of the eggs. This was the accepted orthodoxy until our discovery - a small Japanese crab has evolved to do this very differently!" explained Professor Peter Ng, a world-leading expert in ...

A warming climate and intensifying land use increase mercury content in fish

A warming climate and intensifying land use increase mercury content in fish
2021-06-22
Recent studies show that, in the future, the mercury concentration of fish in Finnish Lapland can shift closer to the level found in lakes located below the Arctic Circle. According to researchers, mercury content should be increasingly carefully investigated and monitored in fish and food webs, as the climate and land use change. Mercury is a heavy metal found in nature. Methylmercury, a particularly toxic form of the metal, accumulates in fish and is biomagnified in food webs. Humans are exposed to methylmercury especially through fish-based diets. Researchers investigated the joint effects of the climate and land ...

Engineering nanobodies as lifesavers when SARS-CoV-2 variants attack

2021-06-22
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Scientists are pursuing a new strategy in the protracted fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus by engineering nanobodies that can neutralize virus variants in two different ways. In lab studies, researchers identified two groups of molecules that were effective against virus variants. Using different mechanisms, nanobodies in each group bypassed mutations and disabled the virus's ability to bind to the receptor that lets it enter host cells. Though vaccination is enabling the resumption of some pre-pandemic activities in parts of the world, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

First-in-human trial shows promising results for DLL3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate SHR-4849 in relapsed small cell lung cancer

Ifinatamab deruxtecan demonstrates high response rate in previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: Phase 2 IDeate-Lung01 trial

Higher blood pressure in childhood linked to earlier death from heart disease in adulthood

AI helped older adults report accurate blood pressure readings at home

High blood pressure in childhood and premature cardiovascular disease mortality

Zidesamtinib shows durable responses in ROS1 TKI pre-treated NSCLC, including patients with CNS disease and ROS1 G2032R mutations

Crizotinib fails to improve disease-free survival in resected early-stage ALK+ NSCLC

Ivonescimab plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in patients with EGFR+ NSCLC following 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI therapy

FLAURA2 trial shows osimertinib plus chemotherapy improves overall survival in eGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC

Aumolertinib plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in NSCLC with EGFR and concomitant tumor suppressor genes: ACROSS 2 phase III study

New antibody-drug conjugate shows promising efficacy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients

Iza-Bren in combination with osimertinib shows 100% response rate in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, phase II study finds

COMPEL study shows continuing osimertinib treatment through progression with the addition of chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in EGFR-mutated NSCLC

CheckMate 77T: Nivolumab maintains quality of life and reduces symptom deterioration in resectable NSCLC

Study validates AI lung cancer risk model Sybil in predominantly Black population at urban safety-net hospital

New medication lowered hard-to-control high blood pressure in people with chronic kidney disease

Innovative oncolytic virus and immunotherapy combinations pave the way for advanced cancer treatment

New insights into energy metabolism and immune dynamics could transform head and neck cancer treatment

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Steven Heymsfield named LSU Boyd Professor – LSU’s highest faculty honor

Study prompts new theory of human-machine communication

New method calculates rate of gene expression to understand cell fate

Researchers quantify rate of essential evolutionary process in the ocean

Innovation Crossroads companies join forces, awarded U.S. Air Force contract

Using new blood biomarkers, USC researchers find Alzheimer’s disease trial eligibility differs among various populations

Pioneering advances in in vivo CAR T cell production

Natural medicines target tumor vascular microenvironment to inhibit cancer growth

Coral-inspired pill offers a new window into the hidden world of the gut

nTIDE September2025 Jobs Report: Employment for people with disabilities surpasses prior high

When getting a job makes you go hungry

Good vibrations could revolutionize assisted reproductive technology

[Press-News.org] Gestational diabetes increases the risk of fetal hypoxia during labor