Intrauterine fetal death: Emotional experiences of an expectant mother in South Africa

20^th Global Nursing Education Conference

March 21-23, 2018 | New York, USA

Maluleke M

University of Venda, South Africa

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

In South Africa, most studies on obstetrics focus on how to prevent the occurrence of IUFD or how to identify the causal factors. Yet, considering the emotional experiences of women to the loss is limited. For this reason, in this study, women who had IUFD were interviewed about their IUFD experience. A qualitative research design was used to have a systematic description on the emotional experiences of the women who had IUFD. Non-probability sampling and a purposive technique was used. Eight women who had IUFD were sampled. Interviews were conducted in the privacy of their homes through in depth interviews until at a point of data saturation. Data was transcribed verbatim and qualitatively analysed using open Tesh method, then interpreted as themes. Six themes identified are forewarning, communicated with the baby, curbed their worries, protected self and loved ones, professional diagnosis and emotional response. A recommendation is made that health professionals need to advise pregnant women during their routine check-up to be on watch out for the warning signs that their unborn babies are in danger and seek professional help immediately.