Finding the balance The second sub-theme illustrates
the difficulties participants faced when surrounded by
tempting foods at home, or when going to restaurants or
visiting family and friends. Although participants were
appreciative when family and friends supported them by
not having high calorie/high sugar content foods around,
they equally did not expect others to entirely change
their dietary habits to accommodate the woman’s GDM
diet. Xioquan and Suji speak of the difficulties they faced
at home:
Because I live with my parents-in-law. . . Sometimes
there is some chocolate or ice cream, sponge cake in the fridge. It is just so hard for me to not touch
them. . .a lot of temptations. . . Xioquan
I don’t cook the food. . . it is bad to say I won’t eat
(the food that her mother-in-law cooks). . . rice. . . she
says it is healthy for the baby. . . Suji
While Loan found social outings to restaurants, particularly
difficult:
Whenever I go to a restaurant with friends that’s the
worst case. . . and especially having the desserts
there. . . But once you go out, like, once a week you
want to eat. . .Loan
Most women describe having small amounts of proffered
foods when visiting family and friends. This approach
was used so as not to cause offense or difficulty
for others, while at the same time trying to adhere to
dietary guidelines. Rita explains:
The other week I had a small bowl of pasta. . . my
sugars were very high then. . . .Because when I’m
eating with my Mum. . . it’s like you can’t expect
everybody to change everything. . . Rita