Dataset Information

"I'm used to doing it by myself": exploring self-reliance in pregnancy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Self-reliance (the need to rely on one's own efforts and abilities) is cited as a potential coping strategy for decreased or absent social support during pregnancy. Little data exists on how women view self-reliance in pregnancy.

Methods

We recruited women from urban, walk-in pregnancy testing clinics from June 2014-June 2015. Women aged 16 to 44 and at less than 24 weeks gestational age were eligible. Participants completed an enrollment survey and in-person, semi-structured interviews. We used framework analysis to identify key concepts and assess thematic relationships.

Results

Eighty-four English-speaking women completed qualitative interviews. Participants averaged 26 years of age and 7 weeks estimated gestational age. Most identified as Black (54%) or Hispanic (20%), were unemployed or homemakers (52%), unmarried (92%), and had at least one child (67%). Most did not intend to get pregnant (61%) and planned to continue their pregnancy and parent (65%). We identified self-reliance as a prevalent concept that almost half (48%) of participants discussed in relationship to their pregnancy. Self-reliance in pregnancy consisted of several subthemes: 1) past experiences, 2) expectations of motherhood, 3) financial independence, 4) decision making, and 5) parenting.

Conclusions

Self-reliance is an important aspect of women's reproductive lives and is threaded through women's past and current thoughts, feelings, experiences and decisions about pregnancy. Women's belief in their own self-reliance as well as a recognition of the limits of self-reliance merits further research, especially as a potential strategy to cope with decreased or absent social support during pregnancy.

SUBMITTER: McNamara BC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6173858 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

"I'm used to doing it by myself": exploring self-reliance in pregnancy.

McNamara Blair C BC Cutler Abigail A Lundsberg Lisbet L Kennedy Holly Powell HP Gariepy Aileen A

BMC pregnancy and childbirth 20181005 1

<h4>Background</h4>Self-reliance (the need to rely on one's own efforts and abilities) is cited as a potential coping strategy for decreased or absent social support during pregnancy. Little data exists on how women view self-reliance in pregnancy.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited women from urban, walk-in pregnancy testing clinics from June 2014-June 2015. Women aged 16 to 44 and at less than 24 weeks gestational age were eligible. Participants completed an enrollment survey and in-person, semi-stru ...[more]

PMID: 30290785

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Project description:BackgroundExcess gestational weight gain is common and an important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Regular weighing can be used to assess and manage weight gain, but NICE guidelines do not recommend routine weighing during antenatal care. Trials that have tested the effectiveness of self-weighing to manage GWG have been unsuccesful in engaging women in regular self-weighing, although the reasons for lack of engagement are not fully understood. This study aimed to understand why this lack of engagement occurred by exploring the naturally occurring thoughts and feelings of pregnant women (9 to 15 weeks gestational age) who were asked to weigh themselves at home.MethodsTwenty-five women were recruited to take part. Participants completed short questionnaires at their first-trimester and 20-week scans. After recruitment, participants were asked to weigh themselves at roughly the same time each week for 8 weeks. Whilst they weighed themselves they were asked to audio-record their current weight and describe any thoughts or feelings that occurred as they weighed themselves. These audio recordings were then sent to researchers using a secure messaging service.ResultsMost of the recruited women (56%) were unaware of guidelines for gestational weight gain, and only 40% could identify the ideal rate of GWG for their BMI group. Thematic analysis of the think-aloud recordings resulted in three main themes: "understanding weight gain in pregnancy", "taking action to prevent weight gain" and "reactions to self-weighing". Overall, there was a relatively positive response to self-weighing and some participants used self-weighing to reflect on the reasons for weight gain and plan actions they could take to avoid excess gain. Negative emotional responses tended to be related to a lack of guidance about what level of weight gain or loss was "healthy", or to other worries about the pregnancy. Of the women recruited who submitted at least one think aloud recording (n 10), 80% found self-weighing to be useful, and said they would likely continue to self-weigh at home.ConclusionsWomen had complex emotions about self-weighing during pregnancy but overall found it useful, suggesting it could be encouraged as part of self-regulatory interventions to control GWG. Clear guidelines about appropriate gestational weight gain could help to reduce anxiety.Trial registrationThe study was prospectively registered with ISRCTN ISRCTN10035244 .

Dataset Information

"I'm used to doing it by myself": exploring self-reliance in pregnancy.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

"I'm used to doing it by myself": exploring self-reliance in pregnancy.

Similar Datasets

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