A 28-year-old woman has been an insulin-dependent diabetic for 10 years. At 36 weeks' gestation, she has an amniocentesis. A lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio test is performed on the sample of her amniotic fluid. Because she is a diabetic, what would an obtained 2:1 ratio indicate for the fetus?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In diabetic mothers, the maturation of the fetal lungs may be delayed. Therefore, even with an L/S ratio of 2:1, which is generally considered indicative of lung maturity in non-diabetic pregnancies, the fetus of a diabetic mother may still have immature lungs.

A 28-Year-Old Woman Has Been an Insulin-Dependent Diabetic for 10