Mom's Diabetes can lead to serious birth defects

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More than 3 million women of birthing age in the U.S. and 60 million in the world have diabetes—a disease that occurs when blood sugar is too high. Even when controlled with insulin, and blood sugar levels are kept mostly in check, maternal diabetes can cause permanent damage to the fetus. About 300,000 to 400,000 fetuses per year from mothers with diabetes develop neural tube defects—when the tissue that eventually forms the brain and spinal cord fails to form properly—which can lead to miscarriage or profound disability.

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