Abstract: Objective: To systematically review the experience of women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Methods: Database including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, ISI WOK, PsycINFO, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang data, and VIP were searched from inception to November 2020, to collect qualitative studies on the experience of pregnant women with GDM. The JBI Critical Appraisal Tool for qualitative studies in Australia was applied to evaluate the quality of the included studies. The integrating methods were used to integrate the results. Results: A total of 14 studies were included. Fifty-six complete findings were grouped according to their similarities to form eight categories. These categories resulted in three synthesized findings: pregnant women suffer psychological shock once the diagnosis of GDM and then acquire the motivation to cope after self-adjustment; women with GDM expect to obtain more support because of the shortage of coping capacity and resistance resources; they actively adjust coping strategies and initially attempt to establish healthy lifestyle behaviors. Conclusion: Health professionals should pay attention to the changes from the psychological adjustment to behavior for pregnant women with GDM in the process of self-management, such patients are in desperate need of effective and sufficient individualized guidance. We should also encourage family members and community resources to provide support to the patients to improve their pregnancy outcomes and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Key words: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; pregnant woman; qualitative study; systematic review; Meta-synthesis