Date of Award

January 2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Nicola Hawley

Second Advisor

Catherine Buck

Abstract

AbstractObjective: Exposure to diabetes during pregnancy increases the risk of insulin resistance, obesity, and cardiometabolic disease in offspring. Limited research exists regarding early postnatal growth patterns among moderate preterm and term infants. This study aims to evaluate growth patterns during the early postnatal period among term and moderate preterm infants of mothers with and without diabetes during pregnancy. Methods: In a prospective longitudinal analysis using data from Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), characteristics from term and moderate preterm infants were compared between diabetes exposure groups (n=148). Percent change in weight from birth to hospital discharge was compared between diabetes exposure groups using quantile regression modeling and adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics. Results: Overall, 49 (33%) of infants were exposed to diabetes in pregnancy (DM group), and 99 (67%) were not exposed to diabetes in pregnancy (non-DM group). Mothers of infants in the DM group were more likely to be older and to have obesity compared to mothers of infants in the non-DM group (p <0.05). Infants in the DM group were more likely to be admitted to the NICU compared to infants in the non-DM group (p=0.03). In the fully adjusted model, compared to infants without fetal exposure to diabetes, infants with fetal exposure to diabetes were associated with a 0.69 (0.16, 1.24) median percent change in weight from birth to discharge. Conclusions: Infants exposed to diabetes in pregnancy experienced a greater percent change in weight than their unexposed counterparts during the postnatal hospital stay. Future research is required to understand the effect of maternal diabetes on both short-term growth outcomes and in-hospital infant management.

Comments

This thesis is restricted to Yale network users only. It will be made publicly available on 05/10/2025

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