Women's experiences with managing advice on gestational diabetes - a qualitative interview study

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to gain insight into women's experiences with gestational diabetes and their strategies to cope with advice for changing lifestyle. Further, health care professionals' approach to women with gestational diabetes is discussed.

METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with nine women with gestational diabetes were conducted at a university hospital, adopting a phenomenological approach.

RESULTS: Three themes were created: 1) Experience of control, 2) personal strategies, and 3) unintended consequences. Women experienced that the monitoring at the outpatient clinic was associated with surveillance and safety and adopted different strategies to cope with gestational diabetes. Some women experienced feeling different and labelled due to the monitoring and their eating habits. Some women expressed concern for the baby and the risk of getting diabetes after birth. Women's experiences and how they transfer and cope with information about gestational diabetes at an outpatient obstetric clinic are brought forward, and it became evident that individual needs in gestational diabetes care are not being met in all situations.

CONCLUSION: Women experienced surveillance and safety while being monitored at the outpatient clinic. At the same time, self-monitoring seemed to stimulate feelings of concern about other's reactions to the condition. In addition, we found that women's strategies for behaviour change included limited food intake, controlling food purchases, and being physically active. Concerning the management of gestational diabetes, some women felt that the information was not sufficiently adapted to their individual needs, thus health professionals' approach to gestational diabetes should be based on the women's perspective.