Experience of pregnant women living in temporary shelters post-earthquake: a phenomenological study

BACKGROUND: Continuing health services after disasters and ensuring that pregnant women receive antenatal care are important to protect the health of mothers and babies.This study aims to investigates the experiences of pregnant women living in temporary shelters cities post-earthquake. METHOD: A qualitative approach was employed to explore pregnant women experiences during the earthquake, that hit the Pazarcık district of central Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, on February 6, 2023. Sixteen pregnant women participated to study who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using MAXQDA qualitative software, following Colaizzi’s seven-stage method. RESULTS: The age range of the pregnant women was 18–36. In line with the data obtained from interviews with these women, four main themes were identified: difficulties in meeting basic life needs (sub-themes of heating, clothing, food/nutrition, drinking water/sanitation/hygiene, and economic needs); difficulties in maintaining pregnancy and protecting health (sub-themes of changes in fetal movements, labor/bleeding, vomiting/weakness, and infection); (1) difficulty receiving antenatal care (sub-themes: inability to have antenatal follow-ups or tests, inability to listen to fetal heart sounds, lack of an ideal birth environment, fear of preterm birth, and lack of weight monitoring); (2) emotional difficulty (sub-themes: fear of preterm birth or not finding an ideal birth environment, crying, helplessness, stress, and shock/panic). CONCLUSION: During emergencies and disasters, it is crucial to provide necessary pregnancy monitoring, information, and psychosocial support by experienced healthcare professionals.