The Experience of High-Risk Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience of high-risk pregnancy from the perspectives of mothers and fathers. DESIGN: A naturalistic inquiry using selected grounded-theory techniques. SETTING: Interviews occurred within the hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 21 parents who experienced high-risk pregnancy and the birth of a preterm infant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses and management of responses to high-risk pregnancy. RESULTS: Emotional responses to high-risk pregnancy were (a)vulnerability--the realization that pregnancy outcome was at risk, (b)heightened anxiety--the transition from normal activities to bed rest and hospitalization, and (c)inevitability--the imminent premature delivery of an infant with a guarded prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have relevance for perinatal nurses. Nurses who have knowledge of the emotional responses parents experience during high-risk pregnancy can provide supportive care to these individuals.