HCM CITY — Việt Nam is among the countries in the Asia-Pacific with an alarming incidence of gestational diabetes, Dr Lê Quang Thanh, head of Từ Dũ Hospital in HCM City, has said.

Speaking at a conference last week he said many hospitals in the city, for instance, have seen an increase in the number of cases of gestational diabetes.

Pregnant women with diabetes treated at his hospital account for 18 per cent of all diabetics, while the rate is 15 per cent at Hùng Vương Hospital, he said.

Koh Hian Tan, former chairman of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Society of Singapore, said diabetes causes many problems during pregnancy, affecting the health of the mother and the development of the baby.

In Singapore, 30 per cent of pregnant women with gestational diabetes have to be forced to terminate their pregnancy, and the remaining 70 per cent develop two type 2 diabetes after the pregnancy, Tan said.

He said pregnant women should be advised to do physical exercise and, very importantly, change their diet.

Food with high carbohydrate content should be avoided, ensuring the glycemic index does not rise to 55, he added.

The annual Việt Nam-France-Asia-Pacific Conference on Obstetrics and Gynecology, held by Từ Dũ Hospital, and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and closed in HCM City on Friday under the auspices of FrieslandCampina Vietnam’s Friso brand.

With more than 1,900 health officials from Việt Nam, foreign experts and professors and doctors attending the event, discussions centred on topics including obstetrics, screening and prenatal screening and diagnosis, nutrition and cancer. — VNS