Patient Empowerment: An Effective Strategy to Improve Management of GDM

Background: GDM is a public health issue, affecting mostly the South East Asian region, as well in Bangladesh (prevalence 9.7% - 12.9%). It has a significant adverse impact on maternal and foetal outcome. So it needs to be addressed energetically to avoid maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. Also it will contribute a lot to the pool of Type II Diabetes as substantial number of GDM mother and their offspring may develop type II DM in near future. Self-management of GDM is well-known globally but there is still lacking in adequate handling of diabetes by the patients themselves. Nevertheless the lacking can be minimized through ‘Patient Empowerment’ by clear understanding of the disease and its consequences along with intense learning,…