Babies born to mothers who had diabetes during pregnancy face a heightened risk of experiencing a variety of developmental disorders including cerebral palsy. According to a report, researchers from the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 877,233 children born between 2004 and 2008. Using health insurance claims data, children were followed for diagnoses of developmental disorders such as a autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and cerebral palsy.
What the Study Found
In the study, a total of 388 children were exposed to type 1 diabetes, more than 8,700 to type 2 diabetes and roughly 90,000 to gestational diabetes. Infants exposed to type 1 diabetes had the highest risk of suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders. Type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes in the mother also increased such risks in children, but less so than type 1 diabetes.
While exposure to type 1 diabetes was linked to an increase in developmental delays, type 2 diabetes increased the risk of cerebral palsy as well. Researchers said more studies are needed to explore how maternal conditions such as diabetes may shape brain development in the womb. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy in women who don’t already have diabetes. Every year, 2% to 10% of pregnancies in the United States are affected by gestational diabetes.
How Diabetes Affects Babies
When a doctor/medical provider fails to monitor the diabetes in a mother — whether it is type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes — it may cause serious harm to the developing fetus. Maternal diabetes puts babies at risk for excess weight or a larger than average size (macrosomia), breathing problems, etc.
Uncontrolled diabetes in the mother can lead to many complications during birth, particularly cerebral palsy. A woman with diabetes is more likely to give birth to a baby of a larger size. This increases the risk of a prolonged or difficult labor resulting in oxygen deprivation, which can lead to cerebral palsy. Lack of oxygen or asphyxia is one of the most common causes of brain damage that results in cerebral palsy.
Maternal diabetes must be diagnosed and managed effectively. Medical providers have a responsibility to monitor blood sugar levels during prenatal care visits. Pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are also prescribed insulin to help process blood sugar. Lifestyle and dietary adjustments are also used to manage diabetes. Failure to properly manage maternal diabetes can be viewed as medical negligence (carelessness), especially if it results in your child suffering a birth injury and a serious condition such as cerebral palsy that may lead to lifelong disabilities.
Contacting a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
As New York personal injury lawyers, we have seen many instances of cerebral palsy that occur due to medical negligence (carelessness) during labor and delivery. It is the responsibility of medical professionals to monitor the condition of the fetus and the mother and make decisions that reduce or eliminate a risky delivery. If your child has cerebral palsy he or she may be able to receive compensation that helps pay for medical expenses, lost income, cost of therapy, future treatments, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. One of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
We have seen many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with cerebral palsy or brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness) and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospital Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source: https://www.physiciansweekly.com/diabetes-exposure-in-utero-linked-to-neurodevelopmental-disorders