[Behavioral responses of an older woman receiving tocolysis after repeated failed pregnancies]

The purpose of this study was to explore the behavioral responses to tocolysis of an older woman who has experienced two failed pregnancies. As a participant observer the primary researcher simultaneously provided care and recorded the woman's verbal and nonverbal behaviors. After repeated data analysis, it was found that the woman's stress mainly resulted from her un certainty about a safe passage through pregnancy and about the health of her fetus. In her effort to ensure a successful pregnancy and good fetal health, she exhibited the following behaviors: worrying about the status of her pregnancy, adopting effective strategies to ensure the success of the tocolysis, complying with medical procedures and nursing instructions, establishing the time marks of the pregnancy for the purpose of self-encouragement, and attaching importance to oral intake for the sake of good fetal health. The article concludes that medical personnel should actively identify the needs of pregnant women and provide family-centered nursing care to diminish the impact of preterm premature rupture of membrane and maximize the positive results of tocolysis.