The Characteristics of Non-Diabetic Mothers with Macrosomic Newborns

Introduction: Fetal macrosomia is a condition with heterogeneous etiologic factors and its' frequency is increasing in recent years. Many macrosomic infants are born without any risk factors and accurate prediction of macrosomia is not possible with only single risk factor. The aim of this study was to research the characteristics of healthy mothers without diabetes who gave birth to macrosomic infants. Materials and Methods: This case-control study comprised 291 healthy pregnant women who were monitored and delivered at Mardin Women and Children's Hospital. Inclusion criteria were (a) no disease or conditions that may affect birth weight, (b) normal healthy pregnancy and (c) singleton live infants born between 37-42 weeks with no structural defects. A birth weight above 4.000 g was defined as macrosomic neonate. The study group was divided in two; group 1 had a birth weight less than 4.000 g and group 2 had a birth weight above 4.000 g. Characteristics of mother and newborn were analyzed to determine any association with macrosomia. Results: The logistic regression analysis results indicated that the risk of macrosomic infant were male gender of the infant [odds ratio (OR): 3.39; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.010-5.211; p<0.001], maternal age being above 35 years (OR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.919-4.005; p=0.026) and duration of gestation being above 40 weeks (OR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.103-2.949; p=0.009). Conclusions: There are various factors behind having a macrosomic infant in the absence of glucose intolerance. These risk factors should be taken into consideration for possible complication of macrosomia and mothers with the risk factors should be informed.