1993 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 44-51
This study was under taken to determine how women who are in the crisis situation of threatend abortion accept and cope with this event, to clarify the objects and content of psychological loss and to identify the various factors influencing this loss up through recovery. We conducted a qualitative analysis on 6 women hospitalized for threatend abortion, using semi-structured interviewsduring early pregnacy, late pregnancy and postpartum (up to 2 months after the birth).
Our results showed that the appearance of symptoms of threatend abortion or the ensuing hospitalization had given the women a pessimistic expectation regarding the continuation of the pregnancy (the viability of the fetus), and the women hadtemporarily lasped into a crisis situation. The women felt an incompleteness in themselves due to thier sudden deviation from the normal course of pregnacy. With the alleviation of the symptoms and the confirmation that the fetus was alive and growing, women recovered from this state of crisis. During their hospital stay, the restrictions associated with their medications and confinement to rest caused women physical and mental stress. The women experienced grief as a result of losing a previous life style, role, and job, and of being separated from close companions. Assistance from medical practitioners, family, friends and roommates helped to reduce the sense of psychological loss. The women's fears during their hospital stay that the fetus might have abnormalities continued until after the birth when the baby's complete normality confirmed. The experience of threatened abortion during early pregnancy faded with the passage of time. It became categorized as a“matter of the past ” especially with the completion of a safe birth and normal development of the baby.
