729 children born with defects at IGMH in eight years; 15 percent of mothers had diabetes

A total of 729 children with birth defects were delivered at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) over the past eight years, according to a study published in the Maldives National Journal of Research. The study also found that 15 percent of the mothers who gave birth to these children had diabetes.

The study, conducted by four pediatricians at IGMH, reviewed 17,188 deliveries at the hospital between 2015 and 2022. Of these, 729 children were born with a combined total of 1,215 defects. This included 313 girls and 16 twins.

Among the cases, 301 babies were delivered with defects, while 360 were born via emergency cesarean section and 68 through voluntary cesarean section. A total of 312 babies with defects were born prematurely.

The report noted that 710 mothers gave birth to children with defects, of whom 107 had diabetes. The most common birth defects were related to the nervous system. Premature babies with defects most frequently died due to lung complications, with six such deaths recorded.

The study also found that diabetic mothers tended to deliver prematurely, with babies born at an average gestational age of 37.5 weeks. Birth weights ranged from 630 to 5,000 grams.

Additionally, 24 premature babies had blood glucose abnormalities, and 27 children died before being discharged from the hospital.