Seeking Safe Passage: Utilizing Health Care During Pregnancy

Abstract

This grounded theory study was conducted to explore how women utilize health care during pregnancy. The 27 women who were interviewed had sought prenatal care early, late or not at all. Transcriptions from the interviews were subjected to constant comparative analysis. The major concern of the women was seeking safe passage through pregnancy and childbirth. Processes used to achieve safe passage were searching for care, consulting, transferring, waiting, contingency planning and self-care. Discussed in this paper is the role that choice plays in utilizing care and transferring some elements of prenatal care to women to manage themselves.

Effect of married women's beliefs about gender equity on their use of prenatal and delivery care in rural China

“…Besides, transportation is poor in rural areas anywhere, and it can be extremely difficult for pregnant women to travel to a clinic. Some studies have shown that a lack of transportation [17,18], and/or the financial burden involved with travel [19][20][21], often barred women from accessing prenatal care, and this was true in our study. In our study, receiving professional prenatal care and being delivered in a hospital or other maternity facility was strongly associated with level of belief about gender equity, level of education, ethnicity, and gravidity.…”

Understanding delayed access to antenatal care: a qualitative interview study

“…There are some resonant themes in our work with those previously published, such as lack of pregnancy recognition/planning, fear, chaos and self-care [18,27,29,31,37]. We found a lack of challenge to delays resulting from system and professional failures, and a complex relationship of beliefs and behaviours, combined with lack of reproductive knowledge, as the main threads running through the study.…”

Perceptions about prenatal care: views of urban vulnerable groups

“…Documented barriers to prenatal care among similar populations include: 1) previous, unsatisfying experiences with prenatal services including culturally inappropriate care [14,16,20-23]; 2) unplanned or denied pregnancy [14,24-26]; 3) avoidance of sanctions for poor health habits such as drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behaviors, heavy smoking, and eating disorders [14,22,27-30]; 4) stress or depression [14,31-33]; 5) homelessness [14,16,34,35]; 6) poor treatment in the system due to race, particularly for African Americans [23,33,36-39]; 7) beliefs about the importance of initiation and compliance with prenatal care [26,37]; and 8) financial issues [27,38,39]. While we understand some of the barriers, health care providers need to better understand what attracts vulnerable urban women to and retains them in prenatal care.…”