Taiwanese Women's Experiences of Lactation Suppression After Stillbirth
Objective:
To explore the experiences of lactation suppression (LS) among Taiwanese women who experienced stillbirth after 20-weeks gestation.
Design:
Qualitative research combining practitioner ethnography and the observ-view method (participant observation and unstructured interviews while caring for participants).
Setting:
Participants were recruited from a medical center in central Taiwan between June 2013 and November 2014.
Participants:
Seven Taiwanese women who had stillbirths.
Methods:
Data were collected by the observ-view method. Recorded interviews were analyzed by content analysis.
Results:
Participants described three core experiences: deciding to use LS without careful deliberation; psychological pain is substantially stronger than physical pain; and not regretting their choice regarding method of LS.
Conclusion:
Physical pain often remains unaddressed because of the greater psychological pain following fetal death. Therefore, LS should be an essential component of follow-up care as part of the discharge plan. Follow-up should be for at least 14 days. More research is needed on nonpharmacological LS to address cultural differences and personal beliefs about methods of LS.
