Medical risk: Implicating poor pregnant women

Risk perception of women during high risk pregnancy: A systematic review

“…Even statistical data may be open to interpretation. In a qualitative study of perception of risk in pregnant women and healthcare professionals, it was found that a figure of 20% could be interpreted as both high and low risk by different individuals (Handwerker 1994).…”

“…Research suggests this may be the case. For example, Handwerker (1994) found American healthcare professionals stressed issues of responsibility and blame if pregnant women were perceived to be behaving in ways which increased their risk status. Another study asked US college students to rate the extent to which it is legitimate to feel negatively towards certain groups likely to encounter prejudice.…”

“…In turn, this provokes greater intolerance of risk and a belief that there is a professional duty to eliminate any degree of risk (Jordan and Murphy 2009). Doctors' practice, including the discussion of risk, may also be affected by fear of litigation (Enkin 1994;Handwerker 1994).…”

“…Some women with high risk pregnancies will go on to have straightforward pregnancies and women with low risk pregnancies may develop complications or have unexpected bad outcomes involving maternal and/or neonatal morbidity and mortality (Murphy 1994;MacKenzie Bryers and van Teijlingen 2010). However, Handwerker (1994) notes that risk status is far more likely to be raised during pregnancy than lowered. Other difficulties in assigning a risk status to women include the degree of risk to associate with a certain factor, how to combine multiple factors into a single risk score, and the tendency to dichotomise continuous variables, for example blood pressure measurements (Enkin, Keirse et al 2000).…”

Risk perception in women with high-risk pregnancies

“…Women with high risk pregnancies are highly committed to the wellbeing of their babies and will do what they believe to be the best for them (Durham 1999). Handwerker (1994) and Robinson et al (2011) both note an increasing tendency to blame women for causing, or apparently failing to remedy, risks in pregnancy. Midwives should ensure women are informed about any medical conditions which will affect their pregnancies and work with them to facilitate positive health choices while respecting individual circumstances.…”