The Unspoken Needs of Families during High-Risk Pregnancies

I have had four high-risk pregnancies. Out of those four pregnancies, I only have one child. I have spent 17 months in and out of bed trying to have babies and have had seven hospital admissions. ,After I became a nurse and began working with high-risk obstetrical patients, I realized the problems my husband and I faced were not unique. I talked with other high-risk pregnant women and their husbands and heard the same fears and anxieties that we had expressed. Pregnancy is considered a normal event. But, for high-risk obstetrical patients, especially for women who have to spend much of their pregnancy bedridden and constantly burdened with the fear of losing the baby, pregnancy is not normal. These families are left out of the health care system. As nurses we need to recognize their special needs, and we are in a position to fill that gap. Some of the women I worked with expressed problems throughout pregnancy. Some had had many high-risk pregnancies; other had only one. They all felt a lack of empathy from almost every health professional they came in contact with. They all said, No one understands what it's like. Problem pregnancies are not a happy occasion. They are filled with fears, tensions, and special needs. Both personally and professionally, I believe that these fami-