OBJECTIVE -To evaluate the perinatal outcome and the frequency of maternal complications in pregnancies of women with type 2 diabetes during 1996 -2001.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Medical records of 61 consecutive singleton pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes from 1996 to 2001 were studied. Pregnancy outcome was compared with that of pregnant women with type 1 diabetes during 1996 -2000, the background population, and pregnant women with type 2 diabetes during 1980 -1992 from the same department.RESULTS -The perinatal mortality in pregnancies complicated by type 2 diabetes (4/61, 6.6%) was increased four-and ninefold, respectively, and the rate of major congenital malformations (4/60, 6.7%) was more than doubled, although not statistically significant, compared with type 1 diabetic pregnancies and the background population. The glycemic control was similar or better in women with type 2 diabetes compared with women with type 1 diabetes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis in the pooled group of pregnancies with pregestational diabetes from 1996 to 2001 showed that high HbA 1c at admission and type 2 diabetes were independently associated with a serious adverse fetal outcome (perinatal mortality and/or major congenital malformations). The perinatal mortality and the rate of major congenital malformations in type 2 diabetic pregnancies have increased during the last decade.CONCLUSIONS -The perinatal outcome of pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes during 1996 -2001 is poor. It is worse than the outcome of pregnancies in women with type 1 diabetes and the background population in the same period, as well as in women with type 2 diabetes studied during 1982-1990. Diabetes Care 28:323-328, 2005T he prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly in all age-groups. In line with this, it is a general clinical observation that the number of pregnant women with pregestational type 2 diabetes has become more frequent in the recent years; however, little knowledge exists concerning the prevalence and outcome of these pregnancies (1,2).A study from Birmingham, U.K., showed a similar perinatal mortality but a higher frequency of congenital malformations, preterm delivery, large-forgestational-age infants, and fetal loss before 24 weeks' gestation in 57 pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes compared with pregnancies in women with type 1 diabetes (3,4). In 182 pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes compared with the general population, there was a 2.5-fold greater risk of perinatal mortality and an 11-fold greater risk of a congenital malformation (5). A study from New Zealand reported a threefold increased perinatal mortality rate in pregnancies related to type 2 diabetes compared with pregnancies related to type 1 diabetes. In addition, the study indicated that the outcome was poorer if type 2 diabetes was diagnosed during pregnancy compared with before pregnancy (6). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in pregnancy was the highest in non-Caucasian women, who had a nonsignificantly higher HbA 1c dur...

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