"A patient should not have to ask": Women's experiences of patient education about preconception care for type 2 diabetes.

The study used phone recruitment from Craigslist and a university platform and allowed snowball referrals, so it may represent women who already had interest in the topic. No medical records were linked, so diagnosis, medication regimen, medication adherence, and most recent A1C were not verified. Only English-speaking women were interviewed, so perspectives of non-English speakers were not captured. Participants may have answered in socially acceptable ways because harm to a fetus or child is a sensitive topic. The sample was mostly women near the end of their reproductive years with higher educational attainment, so it did not capture the full range of experiences. The study gave little insight into sexual minority and gender diverse communities. Financial barriers were raised as important, but the study did not test ways to overcome them. Qualitative interviews and freelists describe experiences and preferences; they do not show that preconception care education improves pregnancy or diabetes outcomes.

The authors reported no financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence the work. Dr. Maureen George is a speaker and consultant with AstraZeneca and Sanofi Regeneron and a consultant for Genentech and Teva for asthma expertise, unrelated to this project. Britton, Arcia, Kaur, Sontan, and Marshall report no conflict of interest.

Do not conclude that offering preconception care education improves diabetes or pregnancy outcomes. The paper reports women's experiences and preferences, not a tested intervention.