Metabolic adjustments in pregnancy

Abstract

Physiologically, the mother becomes almost a new person during the nine months of pregnancy. Virtually every system undergoes some change. In this respect, the pregnant woman is a natural laboratory in which to observe the effects of pregnancy hormones and nutritional demands of the fetus. Moreover, understanding the maternal adaptations to fetal growth has an important practical aspect in the management of the abnormal pregnancy. The question may be posed whether the fetus acts solely as a parasite draining fuels from the mother or whether the mother adapts to augment the supply of energy fuels to the fetus. The Maltese woman is characterised by a high incidence of abnormal glucose metabolism during pregnancy when compared to other populations. Gestational impaired glucose tolerance, defined by the W.H.O. criteria, has been shown to affect about 14% of pregnant Maltese women • Women with gestational impaired glucose tolerance have been shown to exhibit specific metabolic adaptations during their pregnancy. This study attempts to identify the metabolic · alterations which occur during the last trimester of pregnancy in this high risk population.