Mothers Who Get Pregnant through IVF 50% More Likely to Suffer Gestational Diabetes, Says Study

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A new study says that expectant mothers who get pregnant through IVF could be more likely to suffer gestational diabetes.

A new study says that expectant mothers who get pregnant through IVF could be more likely to suffer gestational diabetes. According to researchers, women who undergo fertility treatments have up 50 per cent higher odds compared to women who conceive naturally.

The study was carried out by researchers at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and included a total of 63,760 women conceived through an artificial reproduction technique (ART), such as IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

In a report published in Daily Mail, scientists said it is not clear why the danger exists but it could be due to medical conditions that caused difficulty to conceive in the first place. The study authors further added that it could also be due to a surge of hormones used in fertility treatment to enhance pregnancy success.

The findings will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting.

Notably, gestational diabetes, a common condition affecting one in 20 pregnancies can lead to serious problems including dangerous pre-eclampsia or stillbirth.

Furthermore, while gestational diabetes disappears on its own after childbirth, it raises risk of both mother and baby getting full-blown diabetes later in their life.

A total of 163,302 women in the analysis went on to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

An analysis of the data revealed that the rate of gestational diabetes was 53 percent higher in ART group than those who had a baby naturally.

A further 17 studies were analysed by researchers led by Dr Panagiotis Anagnostis who found that women who underwent ART were 42 per cent more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Anagostis claimed that the review was a 'rigorous assessment' of the best available evidence and added that pregnancies achieved by IVF are linked with an increased risk of gestational diabetes, compared with pregnancies conceived naturally. The doctor went on to say that the exact mechanism is unclear and requires further research.