Achieving normality: the key to status passage to motherhood after a caesarean section.

Objective: to explore women's experiences of caesarean section.

Design: a qualitative study using a grounded theory approach. Data were collected using unstructured, tape-recorded interviews which took place between 1999 and 2000.

Setting: the South West of England.

Participants: twenty-one women who had experienced a caesarean section-either by choice or of necessity-and who were first- or second-time mothers.

Findings: four main categories emerged: expectations and reality, being in control, feelings of failure as a woman and feeling different. These all linked to the core category of achieving normality. Women strove to achieve normality after having a caesarean section. If they did not gain this sense of normality, the status passage to motherhood appeared to be more difficult.

Implications For Practice: it is important for health-care professionals to identify and acknowledge the emotional and physical needs of women who experience a caesarean section. Improving communication and support antenatally and postnatally may have positive benefits for maternal well-being.