PREGNANT women with type 2 diabetes are four times more likely to have a stillbirth, Glasgow research found.

A study looked at 5,392 babies born to 3,847 mothers with diabetes in Scotland between April 1998 to June 2016.

Mothers with type 1 diabetes were more than three times likely to deliver a stillborn child, while those with type 2, which is linked to obesity, were at even greater risk.

Stillbirth rates were 16.1 per 1,000 births in the women with type 1 diabetes and 22.9 per 1,000 births in type 2 diabetes, compared with 4.9 per 1,000 births in the general population.

A third of stillbirths in diabetic women in the study occurred at full term, and researchers believe these may be prevented by change in routine care and delivery policies.

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Women with type 1 who had stillbirths had higher than average blood sugar levels throughout their pregnancy, while pre-pregnancy levels were a more important predictor of stillbirth in those with type 2.

There was a “large overlap” in blood sugar levels of women who gave birth to live and stillborn babies.

Researchers at Glasgow University said that “overall efforts to improve blood glucose levels before and during pregnancy remain central”.

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Dr Sharon Mackin, who carried out the study, said: “It is vital that we, as healthcare professionals, find better ways to support women during their fertile ages to optimise weight and blood sugar, so that when entering pregnancy, whether that be planned or unplanned, they are better prepared and their risk of adverse outcomes is reduced.”

Dr Mackin said the question “has to be asked about whether earlier delivery of all diabetic pregnancies could prevent these term stillbirths” but added: “We don’t know the answer to this.”