Exploring the Meaning-Making of Emergency Cesarean Surgery From the Maternal Perspective

Emergency Cesarean surgery (EmCS) outcomes are associated with the growing trend worldwide with different health outcomes and effects on both mother and fetus. So, EmCS maternal satisfaction is derived from giving childbirth, the quality of care, and knowledge about birth. This study aims to understand the meanings attributed to lived experiences of delivering through an EmCS from the maternal perspective. It also gives a vivid picture of maternal experiences, impact, and decision-making in EmCS. This study is conducted by interpretive phenomenology; the target population for this study is 13 Jordanian women who have converted from normal birth to EmCS. A purposive sample was selected to recruit participants who met the criteria. According to an analysis of 13 interviews, the result demonstrated that the main theme is "Failed Childbirth Process" in account of the importance of the theme contributing to women's lived experience of EmCS. The centrality of the meaning is attributed to the experience shaped through the failed childbirth process of "interpretation, reinterpretation, and communication." As a way of exploring this theme, based on its relation to four sub-themes: reasons for admission, causes for EmCS, the situation is critical, and healthcare between appreciation and disappointment. A failed childbirth process, often culminating in unexpected complications like EmCS, can deeply affect women's physical and emotional well-being.