Question

What is true about a diabetic pregnancy?

• A. Cardiovascular anomalies are the most commonly seen congenital anomalies
• B. Dexamethasone is contraindicated since it causes hyperglycemia
• C. Screening for Down syndrome is not effective
• D. Beta agonists are contraindicated in preterm labor

Hint:

Cardiac defects are the most frequent congenital anomalies in infants of diabetic mothers, though caudal regression is the most specific one.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The question asks which single statement about a diabetic pregnancy actually holds up. Let's check each claim against what is known about babies born to diabetic mothers.

1. Cardiovascular anomalies are the most commonly seen congenital anomalies: High sugar levels around conception disturb early organ development across many systems, and when all the malformation types are counted, heart defects such as septal defects and transposition of the great vessels come out on top as the most frequent. Sacral agenesis is famous for being the most specific finding to diabetes, but it is rare, while heart defects are the ones seen most often overall.
2. Dexamethasone is contraindicated since it causes hyperglycemia: Steroids for fetal lung maturity do raise blood sugar for a short period, but doctors handle this with closer sugar checks and more insulin, they do not avoid the drug altogether. Calling it contraindicated goes too far.
3. Screening for Down syndrome is not effective: Diabetes shifts some of the blood marker levels used in screening, so labs adjust the calculation for it, but the screening test still works and is still offered. It is not useless.
4. Beta agonists are contraindicated in preterm labor: Drugs like terbutaline can raise blood sugar and are used carefully in diabetic women, with sugar monitored closely, but this is a caution, not a flat ban.

Only the first statement stands without an overstatement, cardiovascular defects really are the most commonly seen anomaly group in infants of diabetic mothers.

Let's summarize:

• Heart defects are the most common anomaly overall in diabetic pregnancies, while sacral agenesis is the most specific one.
• Dexamethasone, Down syndrome screening, and beta agonists are all still used in diabetic pregnancy, just with added caution or correction, not outright avoidance.

So the true statement is that cardiovascular anomalies are the most commonly seen anomalies in a diabetic pregnancy.