Maternal diabetes and neonatal macrosomia. Dynamic skinfold thickness measurements

Skinfold thickness measurements were obtained in 206 neonates of nondiabetic mothers and 98 neonates of diabetic mothers within 28 hours of birth. Birthweights ranged from 680 to 5530 gm and gestational ages ranged from 25 to 46 weeks. Skinfold thickness measured 60 seconds after application of a Harpenden caliper correlated linearly with birthweight both for infants of nondiabetics mothers (r = 0.86 at the midtricipital site and 0.81 at the subscapular site) and for infants of diabetic mothers (r = 0.58 and 0.63). The slopes of the regression line for infants of diabetic and nondiabetic mothers were identical, but the y-intercept was higher for infants of diabetic mothers. Thus, at any given birthweight, infants of diabetic mothers appeared to have more subcutaneous fat. Dynamic skinfold thickness measurements were obtained in 75 neonates of nondiabetic mothers and 29 neonates of diabetic mothers with a Harpenden caliper connected to a chart recorder. The mean magnitude and rate of decline of skinfold thickness measurement during the 60 seconds after application of the caliper were affected neither by the presence of maternal diabetes nor by the degree of intrauterine growth of the neonates. These data suggest that neonatal macrosomia and maternal diabetes do not affect the amount of subcutaneous interstitial water.