LONDON: According to a new study, maternal obesity during pregnancy has the potential to be lethal for both the mother and the unborn child.

The results, which were published in The Journal of Physiology, demonstrate that being overweight has a greater impact on the placenta's structure than having poor glucose management during pregnancy does on this important organ that nourishes the unborn child.

Globally, the prevalence of both gestational diabetes, or low blood sugar during pregnancy, and obesity is rising.

It was not yet known how these difficulties develop, despite the fact that both are connected to a variety of maternal and foetal complications, including an increased risk of foetal death, stillbirth, newborn death, and higher infant birth weight.

The study found that maternal obesity, more so than gestational diabetes, decreased the placenta's capacity to exchange nutrients between the mother and growing kid as well as the density and surface area of its blood vessels.
Inflammation indicators and placental hormone synthesis are both impacted by gestational diabetes and obesity, indicating that the placenta is really operating improperly.

The new information advances knowledge of the mechanisms driving unfavourable pregnancy outcomes and the increased risk of unfavourable neonatal and child health that follows.

"Since obesity and gestational diabetes often co-exist, the study underscores the importance of obesity over gestational diabetes in modulating placental structure and function, and begins to piece together how these placental changes may explain observed complications and increased future non-communicable disease risk for both mother and baby," said Professor Mushi Matjila from the University of Cape Town.

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