Table 1 Characteristics of included studies

 Carolan/2013 [29] Australia

To understand the experiences of women self-managing GDM

Phone interview, face-to-face interview and focus group

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM/purposive sample/

N = 15

Caucasian, Asian, South Asian, Indian and Arabic

 Carolan-Olah et al./2017 [12] Australia

To explore the experiences of a group of Hispanic women of Mexican origin who had been diagnosed with GDM

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Pregnant Hispanic women with a diagnosis of GDM/convenience sample/

N = 18

Hispanic women of Mexican origin

 Doran/ 2008 [30] Australia

To explore lifestyle changes during pregnancy and post-partum with women who had experienced a pregnancy complicated by GDM

Interviews

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with GDM and women who has accessed centres for GDM management within the past 18 months/purposive sample/

N = 38

Pacific Islanders

 Hjelm et al./2005 [41] Sweden

The aim of the present study was to compare beliefs about health and illness in women with GDM born in Swedish and in the Middle East

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with GDM

Interviews conducted at weeks 34–38/consecutive sample/

N = 27 (Sweden = 13)

Swedish/Middle Eastern

 Persson et al./2010 [13] Sweden

To describe pregnant women’s experiences of acquiring and living with GDM during pregnancy

Semi-structured interviews

Grounded theory

Pregnant women with GDM/convenience sample

N = 10

Swedish

 Kaptein et al./2015 [45] Canada

To gain insight into the reactions and experiences of women from multiple ethnic background diagnosed with GDM

Semi-structured telephone interviews

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM/consecutive sample/

N = 19

Non-Caucasian (79%)

 Trutnovsky et al./2012 [59] Austria

To explore concerns, treatment motivation, mood state, QoL, and treatment satisfaction of women treated for GDM.

Semi-structured interviews and survey

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with GDM/convenience sample/

N = 45

Caucasian

 Wah et al./2018 [60] Australia

To explore the understanding and self-management experiences of GDM among Chinese migrants

Semi-structured face-to-face interviews

Thematic analysis

Pregnant migrants of China ethnicity residing in Australia with a diagnosis of GDM/convenience sample/

N = 18

Chinese

 Salomon et Soares/2004 [55] Portugal

To understand how gestational diabetes patients experience the impact of this diagnosis during pregnancy and of significance they attribute to the disease

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM/unclear

N = 9

Not reported

 Hui et al./2014 [44] Canada

To explore the stress and anxiety experienced during dietary management for women with GDM

Food choice map semi structured interview

Interviews conducted at 26–28 weeks gestation

Not specifically reported, described as thematic

Themes

Pregnant women with diagnosis of GDM/purposive sample/

N = 30

Caucasian, Asian, African, and Aboriginal

 Hjelm et al. 2012 [42] Sweden

Explore beliefs about health and illness in women with gestational diabetes living in Sweden and born in Sweden or Africa

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews conducted at weeks 34–38

Categories with description extract

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM/consecutive sample/

N = 23 (N = 13, Sweden)

Swedish/African

 Hjelm et al. 2008 [43] Sweden

To explore beliefs about health, illness and health care in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) managed in two different organisations based on diabetology or obstetrics

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews conducted at gestational weeks 34–38

Thematic analysis

Women with a diagnosis of GDM/consecutive sample/

N = 23

Swedish/African

 Hirst et al. 2012 [37] Vietnam

To determine attitudes and health behaviours of pregnant women with GDM in Vietnam

Focus groups

Thematic analysis

Women with a diagnosis of GDM/purposive sample

(Women sampled at gestational ages 28–38 weeks)

N = 34

Vietnamese

 Han et al. 2015 [36] Australia

To explore women’s experiences after being diagnosed with borderline GDM

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Categories

Women with a diagnosis of borderline GDM

Borderline GDM as a positive 50 g OGCT (1 h venous plasma glucose ≥7.8 mmol/L) followed by abnormal oral75g OGTT (fasting venous plasma glucose < 5.5 mmol/L and a 2 h glucose < 7.8 mmol/L) Eligible if they were participants in the IDEAL study/purposive sample/

N = 22

Caucasian and Asian

 Ge, Wikby et al. 2016 [35] Sweden

To explore beliefs about illness and health and self-care behaviour among urban Chinese women

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Categories

Pregnant women with diagnosis of GDM, 34-38th gestational weeks/purposive sample/

N = 17

Chinese

 Ge, Albin et al. 2016 [34] Sweden

To explore beliefs about health and illness and health-related behaviours among Chinese women with GDM in a Chinese sociocultural context.

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Categories

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM, 34-38th gestational weeks/purposive sample/

N = 15

Chinese

 Bandyopadhyay et al. 2011 [28] Australia

To explore the experiences and understanding of South Asian women after a diagnosis of GDM

Face-to-face interviews

Not specifically reported, described as thematic analysis

Themes

South Asian women diagnosed with GDM/convenience sample/

N = 17

South Asian

 Araujo et al./2013 [26] Brazil

To understand the significance of the experiences of women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Open interviews and participant drawings

4 women in 1st trimester, 3 in 2nd trimester & 3 in 3rd trimester

Not specifically reported, described as thematic analysis

Women with GDM diagnosis/convenience sample/

N = 12

South American

 Evan et Brien 2005 [12] Canada

To gain an in-depth understanding of GDM as experienced by pregnant women

Interviews

Interviews conducted prior to delivery and 6–8 weeks postpartum

Thematic analysis

Women with GDM diagnosis/purposive sample/

N = 12

Caucasian

 Bandyopadhyay et al./2015 [27] Australia

To capture in-depth exploration of the experiences and perspectives on postpartum glucose tolerance test screening of South Asian women diagnosed with GDM

Interviews

Interviews were conducted antenatally after diagnosis, after birth, 9 weeks to 52 weeks

Thematic analysis

South Asian women with diagnosis of GDM/convenience sample/

N = 40

South Asian

 Draffin et al./2016 [19] United Kingdom

To explore the concerns, needs and knowledge of women diagnosed with GDM

Focus groups

Thematic analysis

Pregnant women with a diagnosis of GDM or a history of GDM within past 12 months/convenience sample/

N = 19

White, Black African, Pakistani Latin American, Bangladeshi, Indian

 Doran et Davis 2010 [31] Tongan

To explore GDM in Tonga, with women who experienced GDM and health professionals who worked in the GDM/diabetes area

Semi-structured face to face interviews

Not specifically reported, described as thematic analysis

Themes

Women who had experienced GDM in the previous 12 months /unclear/

N = 11

Pacific Islanders

 Figueroa Gray et al./2017 [33] USA

To foreground women’s experience with insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents.

Focus group

Thematic analysis

Women with GDM history and completed at least one prescription for insulin or oral hypoglycaemic medication during pregnancy within past 3 years/purposive sample/

N = 16

Caucasian, African American, Asian, Hispanic or Latina

 Hjelm et al. 2009 [40] Sweden

To explore beliefs about health and illness 3 month postpartum in women born in Sweden and the Middle East, and to study whether they perceive gestational diabetes mellitus as a prediabetic condition

Interviews

Headings and descriptions

Divided into Middle-Eastern born and Swedish born women

Women 3 months postpartum who had previously had GDM /consecutive sample/

N = 27

Swedish and Middle Eastern

 Hjelm et al./2012 [42] Sweden

To explore the development over time of belief about health, illness and health care in migrant women with gestational diabetes born in the Middle East and living in Sweden

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews conducted at weeks 34–38, three and 14 months after delivery

Content analysis

Middle Eastern women with a diagnosis of GDM/consecutive sample/

N = 14

Swedish and Middle Eastern

 Hjelm et al. 2018 [39] Sweden

To explore the development over time, during and after pregnancy, of beliefs about health, illness and healthcare in migrant women with GDM born in Africa living in Sweden

Semi-structured

Interviews conducted in gestational weeks 34–38 and 3 and 14 months after delivery

Framework analysis using the Health Belief Model

Women with a diagnosis of GDM/convenience sample/

N = 9

African

 Kilgour et al./2015 [46] Australia

To explore and assess women’s communication experiences of postnatal GDM follow-up

Interviews

Interviews at 12–16 weeks after birth

Thematic analysis

Women with GDM diagnosis/“theoretical sample”/

N = 13

Caucasian, Asian and Indian

 Lawson et Rajaram/1994 [47] USA

To explore the meaning women attach to GDM

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews once prenatally and again at 6 weeks

Thematic analysis

Women with diagnosis of GDM/purposive sample/

N = 17

Caucasian, Black and Asian-American

 Neufeld/2011 [49] Canada

To describe how aboriginal women in an urban setting perceive dietary treatment recommendations associated with GDM

Interviews

Thematic analysis

Aboriginal women with GDM or a previous diagnosis of GDM within past 5 years/convenience sample/

N = 29

Aboriginal

 Svensson et al./2018 [56] Denmark

To examine how Danish women with a history of GDM experience the transition from a GDM-affected pregnancy to the postpartum period

Interviews

Interviews within 3–5 months after delivery

Content analysis

Themes

Women diagnosed with GDM/convenience sample/

N = 6

Caucasian

 Tang et al./2015 [57] USA

To gain insight of Hispanic and African-American women’s views on prevention of T2DM after GDM.

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Women with a history of GDM (within 12 months of delivery at the time of initial contact)/purposive sample/

N = 23

African-American

 Whitty-Rogers et al./2016 [61] Canada

To explore Mi’kmaq women’s experiences with GDM.

Conversational interviews

Hermeneutic phenomenology

Themes

Mi’kmaq women with history of GDM/purposive and snowballing sample/

N = 9

Aboriginal

 Abraham et Wilk/2014 [25] USA

To explore the lived experiences of women in rural communities with GDM and potentially gain insight into the low reported return rates for PPG testing

Semi-structured interviews

Phenomenological approach

Themes

Women with a history of GDM in the last 2 to 5 years/purposive and snowballing sample/

N = 10

Caucasian

 Eades et al./2018 [32] UK

To explore experiences, knowledge and perceptions of women with GDM to inform the design of interventions to prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes

Semi-structured interviews

Theoretical framework – Self-Regulation Themes

Women with history of GDM diagnosis, within 1-year post delivery/convenience sample/

N = 16

Caucasian, Asian, Black and African

 Nielsen et al./2015 [50] Denmark

To improve our understanding of how women with gestational diabetes experience the treatment and care offered by a regional health service. To understand how the women’s experiences influenced their subsequent participation in follow-up screening.

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Women with a previous diagnosis of GDM within 1–2 years after birth/convenience sample/

N = 7

Caucasian and Asian

 Parsons et al./2018 [51] UK

To describe the experiences of women from a demographically diverse population of their GDM and GDM care, to help inform healthcare delivery for women both during and after pregnancy

Interviews and focus groups

Framework analysisThemes

Women with a previous diagnosis of GDM (within past 5 years)/purposive sample/

N = 50

Black, Caucasian, and Asian

 Razee et al./2010 [54] Australia

To explore the beliefs, attitudes, social support, environmental influences and other factors related to diabetes risk behaviours among Arabic, Cantonese/Mandarin, and English speaking women with recent GDM

Semi-structured interviews

Not specifically reported, described as thematic analysis

Women who had completed a GDM pregnancy in the previous 6–36 months/purposive sample/

N = 57

Middle Eastern, Chinese and White Australian

 Rafii et al./2017 [53] Iran

To understand Iranian women’s experiences in diabetes screening after childbirth

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews at 6–21 months postpartum

Grounded theory methodology

Themes and sub-themes

Women with previous GDM diagnosis /purposive sample/

N = 22

Asian

 Tierney et al./2015 [58] Ireland

To assess the lifestyle behaviours undertaken by a group of women both during and after their GDM pregnancy

Semi-structured interview

Thematic analysis

Women with a history of GDM in the previous 3.6–6.6 years/convenience sample/

N = 13

Not reported

 Pennington et al./2017 [52] Australia

To explore the views of GPs and women who have had GDM

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Women with a history of GDM/purposive sample/

Timeframe not reported

N = 16

Not reported

 Lie et al./2013 [48] United Kingdom

To explore factors influencing post-natal health behaviours following the experience of gestational diabetes

Semi-structured interviews

Framework analysis

Women with a history of GDM within the last 2 years/purposive sample/

N = 37

Caucasian and non- Caucasian