diabetes and pregnancy

Newborn Hypoglycemia

What causes hypoglycemia in the newborn?
Hypoglycemia may be caused by conditions that:

lower the amount of glucose in the bloodstream.
prevent or lessen storage of glucose.
use up glycogen stores (sugar stored in the liver).
inhibit the use of glucose by the body.

Many different conditions may be associated with hypoglycemia in the newborn, including the following:

inadequate maternal nutrition in pregnancy
excess insulin produced in a baby of a diabetic mother
severe hemolytic disease of the newborn (incompatibility of blood types of mother and baby)
birth defects and congenital metabolic diseases
birth asphyxia
cold stress (conditions that are too cold)
liver disease

A newborn infant of a diabetic mother may develop one, or more, of the following:

hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia refers to low blood glucose in the baby immediately after delivery. This problem occurs if the mother's blood glucose levels have been consistently high causing the fetus to have a high level of insulin in its circulation. After delivery, the baby continues to have a high insulin level, but it no longer has the high level of glucose from its mother, resulting in the newborn's blood glucose level becoming very low. The baby's blood glucose level is checked after birth, and if the level is too low, it may be necessary to give the baby glucose intravenously.