I had GD and had similar guilt feelings, thinking it may have been my fault. I saw a fantastic diabetes educator who assured me it was not my fault and given my family history of type 2 diabetes and GD it was always on the cards. I regularly saw my OB, diabetes specialist and nutritionist and followed their guidelines to a T. this included eating every 2 hours, incl a small amount of carbs in every meal and generally ensuring no unnecessary fats were in my diet. My diet generally consisted of cereal for breakfast/ 2 slices of toast mid morning/sandwich or salad for lunch plus small piece of fruit/yoghurt afternoon tea and low fat meal for dinner that included small amount of pasta or sweet potato or potato. The first week or 2 were difficult as i really craved sweet foods but eating every 2 hours helped the cravings. It was such a healthy way of eating and i have actually tried to continue the diet post baby. The good news - my baby was born at 2.5 kilos (yes, even a little on the small side!), and she did not have to go to special care after birth. The baby is subject to blood sugar level tests after the birth but my DD didn't ever notice the heel *****s. I checked my blood sugar levels 4 times a day until her birth and let me tell you I was so glad to see the end of that after DD's birth. Exercise is also very beneficial and I was advised to finish work early due to the highly stressed job i was doing. These both did wonders for my blood sugar levels. When i was first diagnosed they warned me I would be insulin dependent in the last month of pregnancy due to how high my blood sugar levels were but seriously following the recommended dietary and exercise guidelines helped this not to happen. Please understand the above is completely my experience but I hope it helps your friend.