Neonatal Autonomic and Adrenocorticotropic Features in the Offspring of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes

Newborns from mothers with GDM exhibited lower HR and higher cardiac vagal modulation, with sex-specific differences. GDM females showed a decrease in HR without changes in HRV, whereas GDM males showed an increase in vagally mediated HRV without changes in HR. GDM does not seem to affect cortisol levels in newborns. These findings highlight sex-specific cardiac autonomic responses to birth stress in GDM-exposed newborns across the first day of life, which play an important role in shaping different behavioral, resilience, and well-being trajectories in early infancy.