Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is considered a major cause of prenatal morbidity and mortality. It could be reduced by carbohydrate restriction or a low glycaemic diet. Nutritional therapy is widely considered as an integral part of the treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of nutritional program on health of women with gestational diabetes and their outcome at Benha City. A quasi-experimental design was utilized for the study. The study was conducted at obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinics in university and teaching hospitals at Benha city. A Purposive sample of 60 gestational diabetic women who are newly diagnosed and in the second trimester of pregnancy; Three tools of data collection were used include 1) a structured interviewing questionnaire to collect data about socio demographic characteristics of the women, medical and obstetric history, Risk factors among the women, knowledge and practice of women regarding gestational diabetes mellitus. 2) An observation sheet to assess mother and fetus conditions after delivery.3) pregnant women medical health records The study results showed the mean age of women was 35.5±3.4 and 20% of them were obese before pregnancy while 10% of them had history of abortion. After implementation of the nutritional program significant increase of women's knowledge and improvement of health status was noticed . The study concluded that the nutritional program bring about significance difference between women's nutritional knowledge, practice and decreased health risks for women and their outcome. The study recommended that this program should be provided in other settings. Dietary plan for gestational diabetic women should be implemented in all obstetric clinics. |
