Background: Women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have at least sevenfold increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes compared with non-GDM mothers. The risk can be decreased by self-care measures.
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the postpartum education and lifestyle changes of Turkish women with previous GDM.
Method: This was a retrospective descriptive epidemiological study. A total of 111 women who had given birth within the previous 3-4 years were interviewed by telephone between December 2013 and April 2014.
Results: The 83.8% of the women with GDM had not received education related to exercise, while 40.5% received no education regarding the importance of diet. More importantly, while 68.5% had been informed about testing blood glucose levels postpartum, a large majority, 69.3%, did not know for how long they would have had to continue testing their glucose levels. However, 31.3% of those who monitored their glucose levels had glucose intolerance. In terms of lifestyle changes, less than half of the women, 48.6%, had made changes in their diet and the majority, 51.4%, were inactive.
Conclusion: Women need access to sustained education and supportive counselling both to motivate and to minimize the risk of type 2 diabetes after GDM.
Keywords: gestational diabetes mellitus; lifestyle changes; nursing and glucose intolerance; postpartum; type 2 diabetes.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.