Maternal Diabetes of Both Types Increases Risk of Epilepsy in Offspring

A Canadian study examining pregnant mothers with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes found an increased risk of their children developing epilepsy. The study, “Maternal Diabetes and Risk of Epilepsy in Offspring,” published in the March 2026 Pediatrics (published online Feb. 4), examined the medical records of 160,644 children who were exposed to maternal diabetes in the womb and compared them with 1,948,955 children unexposed. Among those more than two million children, 17,853 were diagnosed with epilepsy, with half diagnosed at age 3 or younger. Pre-gestational type 2 diabetes was associated with a higher risk of developing epilepsy, although all forms of maternal diabetes shared an increased risk, the study showed. The authors suggest the association could be explained and mediated by pregnancy complications that are associated with diabetes, including cesarean sections, preterm birth, and pre-eclampsia. Researchers found some associations, while not statistically significant, between the duration of pre-gestational diabetic illness and higher risks of epilepsy in offspring. Diabetic mothers experience a host of potential complications while navigating both their chronic illness and pregnancy that can impact their growing children, including hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, autoimmune dysfunction, and inflammatory conditions. These mothers are also more likely to be prescribed medications that can cause neural tube defects in their offspring. As the number of women with diabetes rises, authors suggest neurological monitoring of young children early – and more often – if their mothers had diabetes while they were in utero.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.