A New Risk of Gestational Diabetes

A study in the journal of Pediatrics indicates that this pregnancy related type of diabetes doubles the risk of the woman's offspring developing language problems.

Researchers found that problems with vocabulary and grammar in the children persisted at least until 7 years of age. But they also found that some children were not affected, possibly because they were brought up in a more educationally stimulating environment.

It's believed that from two to 14-percent of children are born to mothers with gestational diabetes. Unfortunately, that percentage may be on the way up.

Another study of 175-thousand pregnancies found that gestational diabetes cases have doubled in a recent five year period, according to researchers from Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California. And they're blaming the increase on rising levels of obesity among women of child bearing age.

In addition to the protential effect on the children, mothers with gestational diabetes are more likely to suffer a miscarriage, stillbirth, or to develop type two diabetes later in life.

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