Exploring interactions among nurses, midwives and women who have
experienced pregnancy loss: a descriptive qualitative study in China
Abstract
Objective To gain an understanding of how nurses, midwives and women who
have experienced pregnancy loss perceive their interactions during
pregnancy termination. Design Qualitative interview study. Setting A
delivery room and six maternity wards of a tertiary hospital in China.
Population A purposive sample of six nurses, thirteen midwives and seven
women who experienced pregnancy loss. Methods Thematic analysis of
semi-structured in-depth interviews. Main Outcome Measures Themes
derived from interview transcripts. Results Five themes were identified:
(1) interaction quality and characteristics, (2) interactive
contradiction, (3) influencing factors of the interaction, (4) training
needs and (5) suggestions for benign interactions. Conclusions
Healthcare providers should be instructed in adopting a respectful and
sympathetic attitude in communication, strengthening information support
and offering patient-centred care for effective interactions. Ignoring
women’s needs and using disrespectful words should be avoided. Perinatal
bereavement training for preparing nurses and midwives in perinatal
bereavement care and addressing heavy emotional burden is necessary.
Additional efforts are needed to improve medical services and to
facilitate benign interactions in induced abortion care. Funding This
study was funded by the Zhejiang Medical and Health Research Project
(Foundation Number: 2020KY173). Keywords Bereavement care, qualitative,
pregnancy loss, abortion, interaction, communication