Authors: Rasha Hussain Kuba, Lina A. Salih
Abstract
While extensive studies observe the impact of hyperglycemia on the health of both mothers and their children, this article review specifically highlights the significance of role of fetal insulin resistance (FI) in intrauterine environment during fetal growth and the offspring’s long-term health.
Recent studies highlight that insulin has fundamentally different functions in fetal development compared to adult homeostasis, where fetal insulin primarily serves as an anabolic growth factor, while adult insulin acts as a metabolic regulator.Unbalance in insulin action, during embryonic life, often is associated with disordered growth.This is associated with reduced levels of circulating Insulin growth factors (IGF’s) which may be partly responsible for the growth failure.
During intrauterine life the placentaprevent cross the maternal insulin to the fetus, but in the other hand the maternal glucose does, the maternal hyperglycemia induces by placenta itself to increase insulin resistance in mother so more glucose will be available to fetus in this way more glucose will pass to feed the fetus, lead to exhaust premature pancreas to produce and secrete elevated insulin.
Elevated levels of fetal insulin (fetal hyperinsulinemia) promotes the growth of fetus also forces fetal tissue to convert the excessive amounts of glucose into triglyceride in fetal liver and adipose tissue. After the baby is born, the supply of maternal glucose stop, yet the baby’s elevated insulin production persists this led to rapid decline in blood sugar (hypoglycemia) with no good fetal care management this condition will cause many immediate complications or even later in life.