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Hope for the best ...but expect the worst: a qualitative study to explore how women with recurrent miscarriage experience the early waiting period of a new pregnancy

Hope for the best ...but expect the worst: a qualitative study to explore how women with recurrent miscarriage experience the early waiting period of a new pregnancy
Hope for the best ...but expect the worst: a qualitative study to explore how women with recurrent miscarriage experience the early waiting period of a new pregnancy

Objective To investigate how women experience the initial period of a new pregnancy after suffering recurrent miscarriage (RM). Design A qualitative study, nested within a randomised controlled feasibility study of a coping intervention for RM, used semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic network approach. Setting Participants were recruited from the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic and Early Pregnancy Unit in two tertiary referral hospitals in the UK. Participants 14 women with RMs and who had previously participated in the randomised controlled trial (RCT) feasibility component of the study were recruited. Results Seven organising themes emerged from the data: (1) turmoil of emotions, (2) preparing for the worst, (3) setting of personal milestones, (4) hypervigilance, (5) social isolation, (6) adoption of pragmatic approaches, (7) need for professional affirmation. Conclusions The study established that for women with a history of RM, the waiting period of a new pregnancy is a traumatic time of great uncertainty and emotional turmoil and one in which they express a need for emotional support. Consideration should be given to the manner in which supportive care is best delivered within the constraints of current health service provision. Trial registration number ISRCTN43571276.

adaptation, psychological, anxiet, pregnancy, recurrent miscarriage
2044-6055
1-9
Bailey, Sarah Louise
3c7e9f3c-8713-4e9e-90af-e8f9174c8e47
Boivin, Jacky
635abacc-1b16-4280-ba4b-9ec691d9094a
Cheong, Ying C.
4efbba2a-3036-4dce-82f1-8b4017952c83
Kitson-Reynolds, Ellen
28b0a1aa-6f3c-4fed-bf0a-456fe5f5ca73
Bailey, Christopher
af803055-3a2d-42cf-813c-47558ca0a3e5
MacKlon, Nick
d08e4844-96cf-4333-aa84-aec9b8febb42
Bailey, Sarah Louise
3c7e9f3c-8713-4e9e-90af-e8f9174c8e47
Boivin, Jacky
635abacc-1b16-4280-ba4b-9ec691d9094a
Cheong, Ying C.
4efbba2a-3036-4dce-82f1-8b4017952c83
Kitson-Reynolds, Ellen
28b0a1aa-6f3c-4fed-bf0a-456fe5f5ca73
Bailey, Christopher
af803055-3a2d-42cf-813c-47558ca0a3e5
MacKlon, Nick
d08e4844-96cf-4333-aa84-aec9b8febb42

Bailey, Sarah Louise, Boivin, Jacky, Cheong, Ying C., Kitson-Reynolds, Ellen, Bailey, Christopher and MacKlon, Nick (2019) Hope for the best ...but expect the worst: a qualitative study to explore how women with recurrent miscarriage experience the early waiting period of a new pregnancy. BMJ Open, 9 (5), 1-9, [e029354]. (doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029354).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective To investigate how women experience the initial period of a new pregnancy after suffering recurrent miscarriage (RM). Design A qualitative study, nested within a randomised controlled feasibility study of a coping intervention for RM, used semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic network approach. Setting Participants were recruited from the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic and Early Pregnancy Unit in two tertiary referral hospitals in the UK. Participants 14 women with RMs and who had previously participated in the randomised controlled trial (RCT) feasibility component of the study were recruited. Results Seven organising themes emerged from the data: (1) turmoil of emotions, (2) preparing for the worst, (3) setting of personal milestones, (4) hypervigilance, (5) social isolation, (6) adoption of pragmatic approaches, (7) need for professional affirmation. Conclusions The study established that for women with a history of RM, the waiting period of a new pregnancy is a traumatic time of great uncertainty and emotional turmoil and one in which they express a need for emotional support. Consideration should be given to the manner in which supportive care is best delivered within the constraints of current health service provision. Trial registration number ISRCTN43571276.

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Hope for the best... but expect the worst: A qualitative study to explore how women with recurrent miscarriage experience the early waiting period of a new pregnancy - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 7 May 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 June 2019
Keywords: adaptation, psychological, anxiet, pregnancy, recurrent miscarriage

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 431804
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431804
ISSN: 2044-6055
PURE UUID: 83fc9a37-8974-499a-9baf-f7674e153186
ORCID for Ying C. Cheong: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7687-4597
ORCID for Ellen Kitson-Reynolds: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8099-883X
ORCID for Christopher Bailey: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7528-6264

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Jun 2019 16:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:46

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Contributors

Author: Sarah Louise Bailey
Author: Jacky Boivin
Author: Ying C. Cheong ORCID iD
Author: Christopher Bailey ORCID iD
Author: Nick MacKlon

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