OET Listening Part A: Gestational Diabetes Consultation

Hillary Johnson?

Hi, do come in and take a seat.

I'm Dr. Smith, and I'm a senior obstetrician here.

So, Hilary, you've been referred to us by your midwife.

I have her notes with me here, but could you tell me in your own words why you've been referred?

Oh, yeah, no problem.

I think I've been referred to you because the midwife said she found some glucose in my urine sample and was worried about diabetes.

If I understand correctly, I could have diabetes during my pregnancy,

but if I do, it's not likely to continue after giving birth.

Uhm... I've noticed that I'm craving sweets and cakes all the time at the moment,

and I've just been letting myself eat whatever.

So I've put on a bit of weight, and I don't think it's all just baby weight either.

I've never had a problem with diabetes before, and I'm hoping it'll turn out to be something else.

My aunt actually has type 2 diabetes, but she's always eaten a lot of sugar,

so I think that might be a factor.

She just controls hers with diet now and doesn't have to take any medication.

Oh, okay, thanks for letting me know.

I see from your notes that you're 24 weeks pregnant now.

How has your pregnancy been up to now?

I have been so lucky.

I got the usual sickness early on.

Well, you know, stomach pain, but not actually being sick.

I think that's pretty common, and it's settled after the first trimester.

Uhm... I've been taking some medication because I also had pretty horrible heartburn.

And it seems to take care of the problem.

And also, I've started to get a bit of back pain in the last week or so.

I'd say it's like a throbbing feeling.

But other than that, I've been pretty fortunate.

I suppose I've been gradually getting more and more tired since the start of my pregnancy.

I've just put it down to the extra energy my baby needs.

But it could also be because I haven't been sleeping very well.

Uhm... also, sometimes the nausea stops me from making something healthy for dinner,

which is annoying because I know I need to eat healthily.

I take a prenatal, though, to make sure I'm getting the right nutrition.

Well, it seems like you're managing to deal with most of your symptoms well.

Yeah, this is my first pregnancy.

And to be honest, I didn't have a clue what to expect.

But so far, so good.

It's only this glucose thing that's got me worried.

I imagine it's just a one-off, but I guess it's best to get it seen to.

Certainly... and I'm pleased you're here so we can get things sorted, so...

we'll need to book another appointment to carry out some tests.

So when will I have to have this?

Because I'm a bit busy at work at the minute.

Well, ideally as soon as possible.

Can I ask what you do for a living?

I'm a high school teacher,

and it's just getting to that time of year when the kids are gearing up for their examinations.

So I can't afford to be taking too much time off during the day.

I'm actually a little bit stressed at the moment as well.

I've had to do a lot more work over the past few weeks.

I think it's just that time of year.

I've been a teacher for four years now, so I'm starting to develop ways of coping with the madness.

With that in mind, if our next appointment could be at five-ish or later, then that would be perfect.

No problem.

Just make sure to let the receptionist know your preferences.

When we find sugar in preliminary tests, we offer an oral glucose tolerance test,

which is what we'll do when you come in next.

Do you know what that involves?

Well, I asked a few of my friends about their pregnancies,

and my friend Beth said that she had the same thing and told me about that test.

She said that she had to come into the hospital and drink a sugary drink and then have a blood test to tell if she had diabetes.

Is that right?

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Here's the leaflet that explains the test so that you can have a read about it when you get home.

Do you have any other questions for me?

No, I don't think so.

I'll go away and read this and wait and see what the test says.

Well, thank you for your help today.

You're welcome.

I'll see you once we have the results and we can take it from there.