Preconceptional care for diabetes: health care providers' experiences on how the patients face disease and pregnancy

Abstract

Background: Preconceptional care is very effective to ensure mothers and babies health during and after pregnancy. The
clinics and health center personnel are able to offer preconceptional care especially to the risky cases. Learning about the
experiences of health center personnel in such cases is useful for others to find solutions for the same problems which may
come up. This study tends to consider these experiences.
Methods: This was a qualitative study based on the phenomenology method. The participants included the personnel of public
health centers as well as some private clinics. Sampling was based on the objectives and the sufficient data soaked up
by 15 participants. Data gathered through deep interviews during nine months from November 2005 to August 2006 and
the Colaizzi method was used for data analysis.
Results: The phenomena appeared in this study regarding the health care providers' experiences and descriptions of how the
patients face the disease and pregnancy were as following; patients and family, teaching the patients.
Conclusion: Health care provider can be the best options for educating diabetic pregnant women and their families regarding
preconceptional care, because they have the opportunity to access and communicate with this group of patients.
Key words: Diabetes, health care providers' experiences, preconceptional care