Support came from two key sources, the woman’s family
and from health professionals such as dieticians, midwives,
doctors and diabetic educators. Husbands and partners
provided the most support and supported the women in
terms of accompanying them on walks for exercise and encouraging
them to adhere to the GDM diet as well as providing
encouragement and emotional support when the
woman was learning to take blood glucose levels and administer
insulin. Several husbands/partners ate the same
food, thus avoiding the need for the woman to cook separate
meals. Some examples follow:
My husband, he was telling that I maybe . . . shouldn’t
have that much [to eat], during the yum cha. . . .
Xioquan
I was a bit fed up and upset with myself. My husband
was very supportive. . . he helped me get over things
like the finger pricks. . . he did his own one day just to
show it wasn’t a big deal. . . Lili
He (husband) he’s fond of sweet. – now he eats, but
not as much as before. He always – like, he try to
control, as well. . . he won’t eat it in front of me. . .
‘cause whenever he, like, have sweet or other things, I
want to eat. . .Gurtha
The woman’s mother or sisters were also a valuable
source of support and encouragement, and mostly provided
help in terms of advice about appropriate foods and ways
of cooking food to reduce calorie content. Prani explains:
Yeah, especially my mother. . . she’s very worried
about me, so she usually call(s) every day (from India).
To find out, like, I’m okay. Don’t eat this. Don’t eat
this. . . and she always try to give me some home
recipes, so that I get through my diabetes. . . Prani
The second source of support was from health professionals,
and this support was rated by the women as valuable,
but as less important than family support. Educational
support that improved the women’s comprehension and
sense-making endeavours were valued most. Lili and Xioquan
explain:
The first pregnancy I had a lady (educator) that was
really excellent, very understanding, very approachable.
She would listen to my concerns and we had a
conversation rather than just a one-way flow of
information. And so I had a very positive experience
with her. . . Lili
The diabetes educator is really friendly. . .she
explained things very like, in a very good way Yes, yes
and – like, she did a demo in front of me, how to
inject yourself. It was really scary first time. . .
Xioquan