The experiences of women with diabetes from pregnancy through to childbirth

Abstract

Purpose:
To find out the experiences of women with diabetes in the process from pregnancy through to childbirth.
Subject and Method:
The participants were women who had diabetes as an underlying disease and who had also experienced pregnancy and childbirth. The study design had a qualitative descriptive research methodology. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The analysis of this study was made up to the axial coding step, and a storyline generation was conducted, which consisted of extracted phenomena and diagram of category relationships by each phenomenon.
Results:
The study involved eight participants with varied backgrounds such as primipara/multipara, vaginal delivery/caesarean section, and type I diabetes mellitus/type II diabetes mellitus. The paradigm was constructed from eight data of the participants, based on our diagram of category relationships. As a result, four phenomena were identified: "making a choice of pregnancy by their own will"; "proactively challenging to control their blood-sugar levels by trial and error"; "fighting to manage there diet during pregnancy"; and "accepting the children in their bodies as they are". Additionally, stories as a process of each phenomenon were drawn out.
Conclusion:
The experiences of women with diabetes from pregnancy through to childbirth were: growing sense of controlling their blood-sugar levels by choosing to be pregnant by their own will; dithering but challenging to find out proactively what way is best for themselves in terms of controlling blood-sugar levels during pregnancy; fighting to revise or adjust their diet when facing advancing pregnancy; and accepting the children from their bodies with or without deformity, and with or without disease, into their lives. These experiences involved conducting adaptive adjustments of pregnancy and diabetes all done by their own efforts, and were associated with conflict and pain. Therefore, it is expected that midwives should respect the independence of diabetic women and offer support physically, psychologically, and socially while staying by their sides, so that those experiences associated with pregnancy and childbirth can lead to well-being.