'Pill as good as insulin' for gestational diabetes
09 May 2008A diabetes pill has been proved to be just as effective as insulin injections for treating gestational diabetes in pregnant women, research has shown.
Fears that the pill Metformin could harm a foetus were unfounded after 363 pregnant women were given the treatment by researchers in Australia and New Zealand.
Pregnant women who took Metformin were no more at risk from complications such as respiratory distress, birth trauma and newborn hypoglycemia than those who had insulin jabs, however further trials may be needed to support the evidence.
"Clinicians may remain circumspect about using Metformin until follow-up data for offspring are available," the researchers wrote.
One out of every 20 pregnant women is affected by gestational diabetes which can lead to the birth of an over weight baby or a baby with high C-peptide levels, which increases the risk of diabetes in the child.
Out of the 363 women who took Metformin, nearly 77 per cent said they would continue to take the pill if they developed diabetes during pregnancy again.
Cases of type one and two diabetes among expectant mothers more than doubled between 1999 and 2005, according to research by Californian scientists.
Metformin is widely available and is also known by the Bristol-Myers Squibb brand name Glucophage.
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