Women and partners' experiences of critical perinatal events: a qualitative study
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Women and partners' experiences of critical perinatal events : a qualitative study. / Navne, Laura Emdal; Høgh, Stinne; Johansen, Marianne; Svendsen, Mette Nordahl; Sorensen, Jette Led.
In: BMJ Open, Vol. 10, No. 9, e037932, 17.09.2020.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Women and partners' experiences of critical perinatal events
T2 - a qualitative study
AU - Navne, Laura Emdal
AU - Høgh, Stinne
AU - Johansen, Marianne
AU - Svendsen, Mette Nordahl
AU - Sorensen, Jette Led
PY - 2020/9/17
Y1 - 2020/9/17
N2 - OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore women and partners' experiences following critical perinatal events. DESIGN: This is a qualitative interview study. We conducted semistructured individual interviews with women and their partners in separate rooms. Interviews were analysed thematically and validated by a transdisciplinary group of anthropologists, obstetricians and a midwife. SETTING: Department of obstetrics at a tertiary referral university hospital in Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: Women and partners who had experienced a critical perinatal event within the past 3-12 months. RESULTS: We conducted 17 interviews and identified three main themes: (1) ambivalence towards medicalisation, (2) the extended temporality of a critical birth and (3) postnatal loss of attention from healthcare professionals. Overall, participants expressed a high degree of trust in and quality of provided healthcare during the critical perinatal events. They experienced medicalisation (obstetric interventions) as a necessity, linking them to the safety of the child and their new role as responsible parents. However, some women experienced disempowerment when healthcare professionals overlooked their ability to stay actively involved during birth events. Postnatally, women and their partners experienced shortages of healthcare professional resources, absent healthcare and lack of attention. CONCLUSIONS: Women and their partners' experiences of critical perinatal events begin long before and end long after the actual moment of childbirth, challenging conventional ideas about the birth as being the pivotal event in making families. In future healthcare planning, it is important to to align expectations and guide parental involvement in birth events and to acknowledge the postnatal period as equally crucial.
AB - OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore women and partners' experiences following critical perinatal events. DESIGN: This is a qualitative interview study. We conducted semistructured individual interviews with women and their partners in separate rooms. Interviews were analysed thematically and validated by a transdisciplinary group of anthropologists, obstetricians and a midwife. SETTING: Department of obstetrics at a tertiary referral university hospital in Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: Women and partners who had experienced a critical perinatal event within the past 3-12 months. RESULTS: We conducted 17 interviews and identified three main themes: (1) ambivalence towards medicalisation, (2) the extended temporality of a critical birth and (3) postnatal loss of attention from healthcare professionals. Overall, participants expressed a high degree of trust in and quality of provided healthcare during the critical perinatal events. They experienced medicalisation (obstetric interventions) as a necessity, linking them to the safety of the child and their new role as responsible parents. However, some women experienced disempowerment when healthcare professionals overlooked their ability to stay actively involved during birth events. Postnatally, women and their partners experienced shortages of healthcare professional resources, absent healthcare and lack of attention. CONCLUSIONS: Women and their partners' experiences of critical perinatal events begin long before and end long after the actual moment of childbirth, challenging conventional ideas about the birth as being the pivotal event in making families. In future healthcare planning, it is important to to align expectations and guide parental involvement in birth events and to acknowledge the postnatal period as equally crucial.
KW - maternal medicine
KW - obstetrics
KW - public health
KW - qualitative research
KW - reproductive medicine
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037932
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037932
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32948567
AN - SCOPUS:85091323682
VL - 10
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
SN - 2044-6055
IS - 9
M1 - e037932
ER -
ID: 249101228