Working Pregnant Women’s Guilt Feelings: A Concept Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: There have been increasing numbers of working pregnant women and it is important to accumulate knowledge about their feelings and features specific to them. The study purpose was to clarify the concept of “working pregnant women’s guilt feelings”.

Method: We reviewed the literature on the general view of guilt feelings as well as guilt feelings in psychology, psychiatry, and nursing using concept analysis based on Walker and Avant’s model. Nine characteristics of guilt feelings were found and the differences between those feelings and related concepts (“shame,” “debt,” “qualm,” “being sorry”) were evaluated.

Results: The concept of guilt feelings were integrated with a review of the experience, situation, and negative feelings of working pregnant women, as well as working mothers’ guilt feelings. The results suggested the following three constructs of working pregnant women’s guilt feelings: “negative feeling when behaving the opposite to own norm,” which included the worker’s role and pregnant women’s role; “emotion of controlling own behavior,” such as troublesome behavior in the workplace and dangerous behavior to the baby; and “feeling because of extra favors,” such as taking leave and receiving concern from coworkers.

Conclusions: Working pregnant women’s guilt feelings are important to help understand working pregnant women’s situation more deeply and the potential impacts on their mental health. An accumulation of research and development of a measurement scale will assist with this.