DOCTORS and nurses caring for pregnant women may have to start checking for glucose at lower levels in the mother's blood than is currently done to spot signs of gestational diabetes.

Born In Bradford (BiB) researchers have found indications that mums with high glucose levels are giving birth to babies who seem to be an unhealthy birth weight, but actually have a high fat mass - an issue especially prevalent in South Asian families.

The findings were among just some of the emerging BiB research revealed in front of more than 300 delegates at the National Media Museum in yesterday.

The visitors were in the city to find out the latest on the UK's largest medical study of its kind, which tracks the health of 13,500 children growing up in the city.

The project looks at why some children stay healthy while others get ill, how air pollution affects Bradford babies and what helps children do well at school.

The one-day event was BiB's fifth scientific conference. Delegates included teachers, nurses, midwives, social workers and other health professionals who were there to find out how science can change a city. Some of the children involved in the research, including pupils from

Professor Debbie Lawlor was one of more than 25 BiB speakers during the day. Her focus was on how the time spent in the mother's womb, and even before conception, itself can have impact on a child's future.

One of the findings she spoke about was how women with high glucose levels seem to be producing babies with much less muscle mass, but more fat.

The more glucose a mum makes, the more is passed on to the unborn baby.

Prof Lawlor said more work still needed to be done, but there were early suggestions health professionals looking after pregnant women might need to start looking at lower levels blood sugar levels to start to mange gestational diabetes because of the effect it could have on their babies.

"We have been able to measure the glucose in mums' pregnancies and babies' cord blood. Pakistani mums have higher glucose levels and as a result their babies are producing more insulin. The effect is the same whatever the mother's origin, their babies are fatter at birth but have less muscle mass," said Prof Lawlor.

"There are all sorts of factors on how babies grow, it's a mix of genetics, how active you are, your diet. It starts not just in the uterus but before conception, your mother, your grandmother. It's fascinating."

Other findings highlighted at the conference were that mums living in greener areas of Bradford were around 20 per cent less likely to report symptoms of depression during pregnancy and had babies with a healthier weight at birth. Research is still ongoing to find out why.