The blood sugar may be tested for several reasons:

A mother who is diabetic may give birth to a baby with hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

If a baby is considered to be too small for his gestational age.

If a baby is premature, especially those with low birth weight, he may have limited glycogen stores (sugar stored in the liver) or an immature liver function.

Because many large babies are born to diabetic mothers, many problems of "large for gestational age" babies are related to problems with glucose regulation. These may include the following:

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) of baby after delivery.

Increased incidence of birth defects.

Respiratory distress (difficulty breathing).

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