Pregnant women with type 1 diabetes show strong self-management despite stress
Swedish research found that pregnant women with type 1 diabetes report high confidence in managing their condition, yet experience moderate anxiety about low blood sugar. The findings suggest that psychological support during pregnancy could improve outcomes for both mother and child—a significant concern for healthcare systems managing high-risk pregnancies.
Originaltitel: Well-Being and Diabetes Management in Early Pregnant Women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
<p>This paper explores well-being and diabetes management in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in early pregnancy and investigates associations among perceived well-being, diabetes management, and maternal characteristics. Questionnaires were answered by 168 Swedish women. Correlation analyses were conducted with Spearman’s correlation coefficient (r<sub>s</sub>). The women reported relatively high scores of self-efficacy in diabetes management (SWE-DES-10: 3.91 (0.51)) and self-perceived health (excellent (6.5%), very good (42.3%), good (38.7%), fair (11.3%) and poor (1.2%)). Moderate scores were reported for general well-being (WBQ-12: 22.6 (5.7)) and sense of coherence (SOC-13: 68.9 (9.7), moderate/low scores for hypoglycemia fear (SWE-HFS 26.6 (11.8)) and low scores of diabetes-distress (SWE-PAID-20 27.1 (15.9)). A higher capability of self-efficacy in diabetes management showed positive correlations with self-perceived health (r<sub>s</sub> = −0.41, <em>p</em> < 0.0001) and well-being (r<sub>s</sub> = 0.34, <em>p</em> < 0.0001) as well as negative correlations with diabetes distress (r<sub>s</sub> = −0.51, <em>p</em> < 0.0001) and hypoglycemia worries (r<sub>s</sub> = −0.27, <em>p</em> = 0.0009). Women with HbA1c levels of ≤48 mmL/mol scored higher in the subscales “goal achievement” in SWE-DES (<em>p</em> = 0.0028) and “comprehensibility” in SOC (<em>p</em> = 0.016). Well-being and diabetes management could be supported by strengthening the women’s capability to achieve glycemic goals and their comprehensibility in relation to the treatment. Further studies are needed to test this.</p>