High-risk pregnancy and hospitalization: the women's voices

The study is a phenomenological analysis of 10 focus groups with Israeli women who were hospitalized because of high-risk pregnancy. The goal of this study was to understand the lived experience of hospitalization due to high-risk pregnancy. Five themes were recognized: (1) the desire to nurture and the social pressure to do so; (2) the personal and social meaning of a family; (3) loss of normal experiences of life and childbearing; (4) the woman's needs versus the fetus's well-being; and (5) sources of strength and stress. Conflicting relationships recognized within and between the themes pointed to ambivalence as the core characteristic of the experience. Practical implications and further research are recommended to better inform health care personnel and social workers assisting these women.