Casey mum Amanda Rankin was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with her third child and eventually required nightly insulin shots until her baby was delivered.
"I thought it should be fine because I didn't have gestational diabetes with the other two children. So I went to have the test, fasting all morning, thinking I would be fine and get there to be told that my levels were high. I couldn't believe it," she said.
The 33-year-old was shocked and panicked she had done something "wrong" but her story is far from uncommon in the ACT. Canberra women have the highest rates of gestational diabetes, with nearly one in five pregnancies testing positive.
On top of this, 50 per cent of the women who have gestational diabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes within the next 10 to 20 years, according to Rebecca McPhee from Diabetes NSW and ACT.
But Ms McPhee said being diagnosed with gestational diabetes was not a time for women to panic and not a time to feel alone.
"We're testing more and we're trying to emphasise to women that it's not doom and gloom. It's probably better that it's picked up now, to prevent the type 2 risk down the track," she said.
Gestational diabetes mellitus is a type of diabetes women can have when pregnant, when hormones affect how insulin works in the body. It can generally be managed with diet and exercise, although some women may also need to take tablets or have insulin injections. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born but there is that risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
A new campaign funded by the ACT government is designed to address the high rate of gestational diabetes among Canberra women. And it includes a free app with lots of tips and advice.
Ms McPhee said there were some factors that put gestational diabetes rates higher in the ACT - at 17 per cent compared with the national average of 15 per cent - including our multicultural population and our greater incidence of older mums.
Fifty per cent of women who have gestational diabetes in the ACT are from culturally linguistically diverse or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. There is also an increase in the number of women having children at a later age in the ACT.
And new diagnostic guidelines for gestational diabetes were implemented in most jurisdictions by mid-2016 and likely contributed to increased rates of reported gestational diabetes, Ms McPhee said.
"A lot of these factors aren't modifiable, that's why we've started a campaign looking at lifestyle factors, which are modifiable," she said.
The gestational diabetes advice is under the umbrella Capital Chicks CANberra, which offers practical tips, recipes and hacks developed by experts for all women.
The online community at www.capitalchickscanberra.com.au is free to join for any woman aged over 18.
"We're trying to tackle health one step at a time, so it's really creating awareness about the risk factors of gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes and making lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your risk," Ms McPhee said.
"We want it to be an environment that is achievable and something they can all relate to."
The website includes recipes, advice and information, "time-conscious" workouts for all fitness-levels, tips for relieving stress and lifting mood, inspiring quotes, insider Canberra info from the best pram walks to eating out and an Ask an Expert section where members can ask questions across topics to an in-house professional.
There is also information on events and activities specific to Canberra.
"We did two months of research to find out what women wanted and a high percentage of women wanted a downloadable app, especially on their phones. For mums that are really busy, it's something accessible," Ms McPhee said.
"One of the things that also came out of the research was women said if it was local, and there was information about how to be active and healthier in the Canberra region, they were more likely to be part of it. And if they knew it was coming from a credible source, because there is so much conflicting advice out there, they were more likely to come on board as well."
And Amanda? Her baby was born healthy and she is too. She just wishes she had something like Capital Chicks CANberra instead of resorting to "Dr Google" and getting spooked by misinformation.
"I actually think I would have enjoyed the rest of my pregnancy more knowing that there was credible, relatable information online that I could have access to," she said.
