This study will take about 12-15 months to complete. During this time, we will ask you to make 4 study visits, 3 of which can be completed at home. Pregnant subjects will be provided with kits to self-draw a small amount of blood and asked to complete electronic surveys and questionnaires. At delivery, infants will have a temporary glucose monitor placed on their thigh, body composition measured, and blood drawn. At hospital discharge, an infant neurobehavioral assessment will be administered at the bedside. All participants will receive a breastfeeding pillow and free lactation support through the first year of the infant’s life as well as a $25 gift card upon completion of the 4th visit.
Low blood sugar is a common and easily treatable condition of the newborn that can be associated with long-term cognitive and learning challenges if left untreated. Infants born to mothers who enter pregnancy at higher weights may have underrecognized low blood sugar because maternal obesity is not an established risk factor for low blood sugar. Thus, infants born to overweight moms are not screened for low blood sugar and may be at risk for the later life effects.
This study will answer the following question:
- Is maternal obesity, in the absence of other risk factors such as gestational diabetes, an independent risk factor for neonatal hypoglycemia (NH)?
AIMS
- To characterize glycemic patterns and perturbations by CGM in infants considered to be at-risk and not-at-risk by current clinical guidelines in a contemporary U.S. cohort.
- To identify functional thresholds for NH by quantifying the association between glycemia and additional host factors with CrSO2
- To identify the role of NH in adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes
- To define the role of neonatal size and adiposity in NH risk
- To examine early markers of NH-associated brain injury