Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40607686›Full record

SynthesisDiabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association2025

Experiences of women with type 2 diabetes during the pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and postpartum periods: A systematic review of qualitative studies.

Lily Hopkins, Noreen O'Leary, Aileen Burton, Eleanor Dyer, Angela C Flynn, Sowmiya Gunabalasingam, Nicola Heslehurst, Artemis Kyrka, Rivka Lebrett, Claire L Meek and 3 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Women living with diabetes: Overlooked and under-recognised, the psychosocial impact.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Lily HopkinsDepartment of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4621-1829
Noreen O'LearySchool of Population Health, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Aileen BurtonSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7607-4426
Eleanor DyerPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4797-1459
Angela C FlynnSchool of Population Health, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Sowmiya GunabalasingamDepartment of Women and Children's Health, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Nicola HeslehurstPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Artemis KyrkaDepartment of Women and Children's Health, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Rivka LebrettClalit Health Services, Rehovot, Israel.
Claire L MeekLeicester Diabetes Centre and Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4176-8329
Danielle A J M SchoenakerSchool of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7652-990X
Sara L WhiteDepartment of Women and Children's Health, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Rita FordeSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1906-2431

Funding

Diabetes UKEuropean Foundation for the Study of Diabetes-Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders' Award NNF19SA058974Harry Keen Intermediate Clinical Fellowship 17/0005712Medical Research Council MR/W003740/1National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR302955NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre NIHR203319
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo explore the experiences of women with type 2 diabetes prior to, during and after pregnancy.

methodsSix databases were systematically searched in September 2023. Qualitative studies involving women of childbearing age living with type 2 diabetes in the pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and postpartum periods were included. A thematic synthesis was conducted to inductively generate themes related to the experiences of women with type 2 diabetes. Descriptive themes were mapped to the Socio-Ecological Model to generate analytical themes relating to the personal, interpersonal and organisational level impacts that underlie women's experiences. Study quality was assessed using the CASP checklist for qualitative studies.

resultsEleven papers from seven countries met the inclusion criteria. Four themes containing six subthemes were generated. At a personal level, women prioritised their desire to plan a family over 'family planning'; however, once pregnant they were fearful for the future health of their children. At the interpersonal level, women reported that their self-efficacy was influenced by family and socio-cultural factors which often lacked diabetes-specific information. At the organisational level, women described a fragmented healthcare system and felt that healthcare professionals' unfamiliarity with the reproductive health needs of women with type 2 diabetes resulted in ineffective integration into their diabetes care.

conclusionThe provision of appropriate care to women with type 2 diabetes prior to and during pregnancy is inadequate, leaving them vulnerable to increased health risks and emotional distress. Innovative ways are needed to embed reproductive healthcare into mainstream diabetes management for women with type 2 diabetes prior to and post-pregnancy.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Postpartum PeriodPregnancy in DiabeticsAdultFemaleHumansPregnancyQualitative Researchpostpartumpregnancypre‐pregnancyqualitative methodssystematic reviewstype 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID40607686
PMCPMC12352727

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.