Observations concerning "unexplained" fetal demise in pregnancy complicated by diabetes mellitus

"Unexplained" feral death, although uncommon, continues to be a classic accident associated with diabetes mellitus during pregnancy. During a 9-year period at our hospital, the authors were in attendance when such unexplained fetal death was actually occurring in two pregnancies. These very rare clinical experiences may serve to provide new insights into these "unexplained" fetal deaths. We propose that placental edema and resultant impaired placenta-to-fetus oxygen transport is a contributing factor for these fetal deaths. Moreover, such placental edema can be linked to the glucose aberrations associated with maternal diabetes.