Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2025
Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring
Published on: May 17, 2024
Elucidating the Relationship Between Maternal Diabetes and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A 2017-2018 Project WATCH
Arin Jennings1, Collin John, Christa Lilly
1School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown (Mss Jennings and Hamilton and Drs John and Umer); and Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown (Dr Lilly).
Background:
Previous research indicated that diabetes during pregnancy results in a more permeable placenta. Based on this data, we hypothesized that women with maternal diabetes were more likely to have infants who developed neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).
Purpose:
The purpose of the study was to examine the association between maternal diabetes and NAS in a cohort of women reporting substance use during pregnancy.
Methods:
This study used data from a population-based cohort of all newborns born in 2017 and 2018 (N = 36,974) in the state of West Virginia and restricted the analysis to those infants with intrauterine substance exposure (14%, n = 5188). Multiple logistic regression was performed to analyze the adjusted relationship between maternal diabetes and NAS while controlling for maternal and infant covariates.
Results:
Just over 28% of women with diabetes had an infant who developed NAS, whereas 34.8% of women without diabetes had an infant who developed NAS. The adjusted odds ratio of infants developing NAS born to women with diabetes was 0.70 (95% confidence interval: 0.51, 0.94) compared with those born to mothers without diabetes after controlling for covariates. Contrary to our hypothesis, the study suggests that maternal diabetes during pregnancy is associated with a decreased risk of an infant developing NAS.
Implications For Practice:
Future research generating from this hypothesis may lead to potential implications for practice for infants born to mothers with substance use during pregnancy and diabetes.
Implications For Research:
More research should be conducted to investigate the relationship between glucose metabolism and NAS.
More Related Videos
19:15Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
05:04A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
Published on: September 22, 2023
Related Concept Videos
01:20Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...