Blood sugar levels in babies born of diabetic mothers.

persons (Creery and Parkinson, 1953; Greenwald and Pennell, 1930; Hartmann and Jaudon, 1937; Ketteringham and Austin, 1938; McKittrick, 1940; Norval, Kennedy and Berkson, 1949; Smith, 1951; Wachter, 1949). There is less information concerning the blood sugar levels of the infants born of diabetic mothers, but the evidence suggests an early and rapid fall to a low level followed by a slow rise to more normal levels (Haslewood and Strookman, 1939; Joslin, Root, White and Marble, 1952; Miller and Ross, 1940; Oakley, 1953; Pedersen, 1952; Peel and Oakley, 1950; Reis, DeCosta and Allweiss, 1950). It has been possible to make some observations on 21 normal infants and 40 infants born of diabetic mothers, and figures are produced for comparison. Twenty-five of the 40 'diabetic' babies were given 50% glucose at set intervals during the first eight hours of life, a total of 2 g. of glucose being given in all, but no further feeding was attempted until the infants demanded. This regime, based on the work of Reis and his colleagues in Chicago (1950), was employed as part of an M.R.C. investigation into pregnancy in diabetes: the remainder were not given glucose and feeding was only begun when the infants cried hungrily. The majority of the 'diabetic' babies were delivered by Caesarean section in the thirty-seventh to thirtyeighth week, the mothers being given 30 g. glucose within two hours of the operation.