Abnormal Fetal Echocardiography in Diabetic Pregnant Women at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: The sedentary lifestyle of women and change in their food habits has a significant role in developing diabetes in pregnancies. This leads to an increased chance of fetal cardiac abnormality born by a mother with gestational diabetes and pre-existing diabetes. The objective of the study is to find out the prevalence of abnormal fetal echocardiography in gestational and pre-existing diabetic pregnant women at a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 104 diabetic pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital from April 15, 2017, to April 14, 2018. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review committee. The convenient sampling method was used. The patients who were diagnosed as gestational diabetes and diabetic before pregnancy were included in the study. Fetal echocardiography was mainly done at a gestational age of 22-32 weeks depending upon the time of diagnosis of gestational diabetes and for pre-diabetic women, fetal echocardiography was done at 24-26 weeks of gestation. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 20. RESULTS: Among 104 patients, 16 (15.38%) patients had abnormal fetal echocardiography. Eighty-three (79.81%) were gestational diabetics, 21 (20.19%) were pre-existing diabetic women. Among 83 gestational diabetes, 7 (8.4%) had abnormal echo finding and among 21 pre-existing diabetics, 9 (42.8%) had abnormal echo finding. CONCLUSIONS: There was an increased chance of fetal cardiac malformation in gestational diabetic and pre-existing diabetics diabetic especially in an uncontrolled glycemic state. And, if they were diagnosed prenatally, clinical outcomes for both mother and fetus would have been better.