Decision-making regarding place of birth in high-risk pregnancy: a qualitative study.

J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol

b Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, East Surrey Hospital, Canada Avenue, Redhill , Surrey , UK.

Published: December 2016

Introduction: Women consider factors including safety and the psychological impact of their chosen location when deciding whether to give birth in hospital or at home. The same is true for women with high-risk pregnancies who may plan homebirths against medical advice. This study investigated women's decision-making during high-risk pregnancies. Half the participants were planning hospital births and half were planning homebirths.

Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews set in a hospital maternity department in the UK. Twenty-six participants with high-risk pregnancies, at least 32 weeks pregnant. Results were analysed using systematic thematic analysis.

Results: Three themes emerged: perceptions of birth at home and hospital; beliefs about how birth should be; and the decision process. Both groups were concerned about safety but they expressed different concerns. Women drew psychological comfort from their chosen birth location. Women planning homebirths displayed faith in the natural birth process and stressed the quality of the birth experience. Women planning hospital births believed the access to medical care outweighed their misgivings about the physical environment.

Discussion: Although women from both groups expressed similar concerns about safety they reached different decisions about how these should be addressed regarding birth location. These differences may be related to beliefs about the birth process. Commitment to their decisions may have helped reduce cognitive stress.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/0167482X.2016.1151413DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

high-risk pregnancies
12
birth
9
qualitative study
8
birth hospital
8
planning hospital
8
hospital births
8
beliefs birth
8
expressed concerns
8
birth location
8
women planning
8

Similar Publications

Pregnant women with congenital heart disease carry a high risk of complications, especially when cardiac function is suboptimal. Increasing evidence suggests that impaired right ventricular (RV) function has a negative effect on placental function, possibly through venous congestion. We report a case series of hepatic and renal venous flow patterns in pregnant women with right ventricular dysfunction after repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), relative to those observed in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To study perinatal outcomes for newborns with early, isolated, severe FGR, for whom initial active management was considered unreasonable or impossible at an obstetric-pediatric assessment and to identify the determinants associated with a course that made active management reasonable.

Material And Methods: This retrospective observational single-center study occurred in a level-3 university hospital maternity unit. It included all pregnancies with a singleton fetus presenting isolated FGR <3rd percentile at 23 weeks or more of gestation with an obstetric-pediatric assessment (OPA) initially unfavorable to active management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Individuals, who suffer from severe mental illnesses (SMI), such as bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and major depressive disorder (MDD), are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. A severe mental illness can lead to a decrease in impulse control, a reduction in cognitive function and memory, and a psychosocial impairment that increases risky sexual behavior. Risky sexual behavior (RSB) can lead to health problems such as sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, and unplanned pregnancies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP): Is it exclusively placental?

Placenta

January 2025

Division of Basic Science and Translational Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Adverse pregnancies outcomes present a clinical dilemma in Perinatal medicine. This is partly due to lack of accuracy of current biomarkers to predict high-risk pregnancies at an earlier stage. The placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) carrying extracellular vesicles (EVs), and their cargo have been reported as a source of biomarkers for placental health and an indication of pre-eclampsia progression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: With more women entering surgical training, barriers concerning pregnancy and breastfeeding are pertinent issues that have not been addressed adequately in a specialty with more men. An increasing body of evidence for the consequences of these challenges is emerging but has not been reviewed thoroughly. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the physical, emotional, and practical challenges of pregnancy and breastfeeding during surgical training and career and to elucidate the main difficulties and barriers female surgeons experience.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!