Why Is Blood Glucose Control Important to Self-Care of Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus?

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the change in self-care, self-efficacy, and health status of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and to identify whether blood glucose control influences pregnancy outcomes. This study is experimental research using a one-group pretest-posttest design. The study subjects were 40 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM, and the data were collected in their 24th and 40th week of gestation and analyzed using SPSS 27.0. Paired samples t-test was used to compare the health status, self-care, and self-efficacy of subjects between antepartum and postpartum, and t-test and non-parametric test were used to evaluate the changes in self-care and self-efficacy according to the ability to control blood glucose. As a result of this study, maternal BMI, self-care, and self-efficacy after childbirth were significantly worse than before (p < 0.001). However, HbA1c did not deteriorate and remained at a similar level, which is possibly the effect of diabetes education (p = 0.902). Furthermore, it was found that HbA1c control has a significant effect on preventing a decrease in self-care. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop and apply various diabetes education programs to manage blood glucose levels in pregnant women with GDM as blood glucose control is effective for improving not only their health outcomes but also their cognitive status, such as self-care.