Pre-gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risk of maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of pre-conception care (PCC) in improving maternal and perinatal outcomes. Databases from MEDLINE, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, and Cochrane Library were searched, including the CENTRAL register of controlled trials, and CINHAL up until March 2019, without any language restrictions, for any pre-pregnancy care aiming at health promotion, glycemic control, and screening and treatment of diabetes complications in women with type I or type II pre-gestational diabetes. Trials and observational studies were included in the review. Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the Cochrane collaboration methodology for data synthesis and analysis were used, along with the GRADE tool to evaluate the body of evidence. The search identified 8500 potentially relevant citations of which 40 reports of 36 studies were included. The meta-analysis results show that PCC reduced congenital malformations risk by 71%, (Risk ratio (RR) 0.29; 95% CI: 0.21–0.40, 25 studies; 5903 women; high-certainty evidence). The results also show that PCC may lower HbA1c in the first trimester of pregnancy by an average of 1.27% (Mean difference (MD) 1.27; 95% CI: 1.33–1.22; 4927 women; 24 studies, moderate-certainty evidence). Furthermore, the results suggest that PCC may lead to a slight reduction in the risk of preterm delivery of 15%, (RR 0.85; 95% CI: 0.73–0.99; nine studies, 2414 women; moderate-certainty evidence). Moreover, PCC may result in risk reduction of perinatal mortality by 54%, (RR 0.46; 95% CI: 0.30–0.73; ten studies; 3071 women; moderate-certainty evidence). There is uncertainty about the effects of PCC on the early booking for antenatal care (MD 1.31; 95% CI: 1.40–1.23; five studies, 1081 women; very low-certainty evidence) and maternal hypoglycemia in the first trimester, (RR 1.38; 95% CI: 1.07–1.79; three studies; 686 women; very low- certainty evidence). In addition, results of the meta-analysis indicate that PCC may lead to 48% reduction in the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) (RR 0.52; 95% CI: 0.37–0.75; six studies, 2261 women; moderate-certainty evidence). PCC may reduce the risk of neonatal admission to intensive care unit (NICU) by 25% (RR 0.75; 95% CI: 0.67–0.84; four studies; 1322 women; moderate-certainty evidence). However, PCC may have little or no effect in reducing the cesarean section rate (RR 1.02; 95% CI: 0.96–1.07; 14 studies; 3641 women; low-certainty evidence); miscarriage rate (RR 0.86; 95% CI: 0.70–1.06; 11 studies; 2698 women; low-certainty evidence); macrosomia rate (RR 1.06; 95% CI: 0.97–1.15; nine studies; 2787 women, low-certainty evidence); neonatal hypoglycemia (RR 0.93; 95% CI: 0.74–1.18; five studies; 880 women; low-certainty evidence); respiratory distress syndrome (RR 0.78; 95% CI: 0.47–1.29; four studies; 466 women; very low-certainty evidence); or shoulder dystocia (RR 0.28; 95% CI: 0.07–1.12; 2 studies; 530 women; very low-certainty evidence). PCC for women with pre-gestational type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus is effective in improving rates of congenital malformations. In addition, it may improve the risk of preterm delivery and admission to NICU. PCC probably reduces maternal HbA1C in the first trimester of pregnancy, perinatal mortality and SGA. There is uncertainty regarding the effects of PCC on early booking for antenatal care or maternal hypoglycemia during the first trimester of pregnancy. PCC has little or no effect on other maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Pregnancies complicated by pre-existing diabetes mellitus (PDM) are associated with a high rate of adverse outcomes, including an increased miscarriage rate, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, perinatal mortality and congenital malformations; compared to the background population. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of PDM and to investigate the maternal and the neonatal outcomes of women with PDM.

The objectives of this study were to estimate the burden of diabetes and to explore the adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with pregestational diabetes mellitus (pre-GDM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among the Saudi pregnant population. In this subcohort, we compared the maternal and the neonatal outcomes of diabetic women with pre-GDM and GDM to the outcomes of nondiabetic mothers who delivered during the same period. From the total cohort, 9723 women participated in this study. Of the participants, 24.2% had GDM, 4.3% had pre-GDM, and 6951 were nondiabetic. After adjustment for confounders, women with GDM had increased odds of delivering a macrosomic baby (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2–2.1). Women with pre-GDM were more likely to deliver by Cesarean section (OR: 1.65; CI: 1.32–2.07) and to have preterm delivery < 37 weeks (OR: 2.1; CI: 1.5–2.8). Neonates of mothers with pre-GDM were at increased risk of being stillbirth (OR: 3.66; CI: 1.98–6.72), at increased risk of admission to NICU (OR: 2.21; CI: 1.5–3.27), and at increased risk for being macrosomic (OR: 2.40; CI: 1.50–3.8). The prevalence of GDM and pre-GDM in the Saudi pregnant population is among the highest in the world. The conditions are associated with high maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities.

The relation between grand multiparity (GMP) and the possible adverse pregnancy outcomes is not well identified. GMP (parity ≥5 births) frequently occurs in the Arab nations; therefore, this study aimed to identify the correlation between GMP and the different adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in the Saudi population. This cohort study was conducted on a total of 3327 women from the labour ward in King Khaled University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Primiparous, multiparous and grand multiparous females were included. Socio-demographic data and pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes or hypertension, preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction were retrieved from the participants’ files. In addition, the labour ward records were used to extract information about delivery events (e.g. spontaneous preterm delivery, caesarean section [CS]) and neonatal outcomes including anthropometric measurements, APGAR score and neonatal admission to the intensive care. Primiparas responses were more frequent in comparison to multiparas and GMP (56.8% and 33%, and 10.2% respectively). In general, history of miscarriage was elevated (27.2%), and was significantly higher in GMP (58.3%, p < 0.01). Caesarean delivery was also elevated (19.5%) and was significantly high in the GMP subgroup (p < 0.01). However, after adjustment for age, GMP were less likely to deliver by CS (odds ratio: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4–0.8; p < 0.01). The two most frequent pregnancy-associated complications were gestational diabetes and spontaneous preterm delivery (12.6% and 9.1%, respectively). The former was significantly more frequent in the GMP (p < 0.01). The main neonatal complication was low birth weight (10.7%); nevertheless, neonatal admission to ICU was significantly higher in GMP (p = 0.04), and low birth weight was more common in primiparas (p < 0.01). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed an insignificant increase in the maternal or neonatal risks in GMP compared to multiparas after adjustment for age. Grand multiparous Saudi females have similar risks of maternal and neonatal complications compared to the other parity groups. Advanced age might play a major role on pregnancy outcomes in GMP. Nevertheless, grand multiparty might not be discouraged as long as women are provided with good perinatal care.

Obesity and gestational diabetes (GDM) in pregnancy are recognized risk factors for adverse outcomes, including cesarean section (CS), macrosomia and preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to investigate the independent effect of GDM and obesity on the adverse pregnancy outcomes at term.