Awareness and knowledge about gestational diabetes mellitus among antenatal women Consciencialização e Conhecimento Sobre Diabetes Mellitus Gestacional em Mulheres Grávidas

Aim: The study examined the awareness and knowledge about gestational-diabetes-mellitus (GDM) among antenatal-women and found its influential factors through three phases. Method: The sample for phase I was 523 antenatal women. In phases II and III, 33 participants who were identified to be aware of GDM from Phase I were included. Measures used were Gestational-Diabetes-Knowledge-Questionnaire (GDKQ) and an open-ended questionnaire. Results: Age and “number of Pregnancies to date” significantly predicted awareness. Kruskal-Wallis H test indicated that antenatal-women differed in their ‘knowledge' across the trimesters. Mann-Whitney U showed a difference in ‘knowledge' among participants, ‘with' and ‘without' a history of diabetes. Electronic and print-media were identified to be the significant sources of knowledge. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of implementing methods that enhance the awareness and knowledge of GDM among the antenatal women. peerReviewed publishedVersion