I am currently in the final stages of a
qualitative study using Grounded Theory on women's experience of caesarean
section. You may be interested in some of the key themes to emerge from
analysis of the data.
I interviewed first time mothers who had
experienced an emergency caesarean. I also interviewed second time mothers
who had either a trial of labour or an
elective CS.
Most of women said that they 'expected the
normal' and emergency CS left them with feelings of disappointment, sometimes
anger and feelings of failure. Women felt they had missed out on normal
birth. Women in this study associated 'normal birth' as 'part of being a
woman' ; a 'normal process' and one that
they expected. Birth is seen as a 'rite of passage'
I have used inverted commas to indicate codes identified in the data.
'Feelings of failure' were linked to a sense of the 'failing body' and
'failing as a mother' because they had found caring for a newborn baby
difficult after CS.
Another theme to emerge from the data was that of
'being in control'. First time mothers who experienced an emergency CS
described how they had lost control over the birth process. Second time
mothers describe how their experience of previous CS impacts upon their
decision making in a subsequent pregnancy. Regaining control is an
important theme in this study because women who chose a trial of labour
saw this as a way of regaining control. However, women who opted
for an elective CS also saw this as regaining
control. Women who chose to have a CS did so because they would 'be
prepared', it meant 'minimizing uncertainty' and 'avoiding an
emergency'. Women feared going through labour only to end up with
another CS.
Other themes in this study reflect the 'reality
of caesarean' and the impact it has on women's lives. Women
describe their interaction with care givers and others in their kinship
network. For example,
Women feel their is a lack of support for women
who experience CS from professionals. Women are critical of the
care they receive on the postnatal ward. They feel that midwives forget
they have experienced major abdominal surgery. Some women feel they
need for care and attention but many are too frightened to ask, or don't want
to take up the midwives time. Women have unanswered questions about the
decision to do the CS. Women also feel they are 'different' from
women who have a normal delivery. This can lead to a sense of isolation
and exclusion from 'normal mothers'.
It must be said that all women have a
negative view of CS and the care they received and this is documented in the
thesis. In this study women tell their stories of CS. This provides
an insight into the lived experience of CS and implications for
transition to motherhood.
Sue Fenwick
