CLAIMING CHILDBIRTH (CONTROL).
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 113
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology.; Women's Studies.
Description: This study sought to provide a substantive theoretical analysis of women's conceptualizations of control in childbirth through the use of grounded theory methodology. Eight women attending childbirth education classes participated. Analysis of audio-recorded interviews obtained both before and after delivery revealed a basic social process: Claiming Childbirth. Claiming Childbirth has three stages: Gathering, Managing, and Integrating. Gathering consisted of various activities undertaken with the purpose of building a knowledge base about the happenings of pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing. In Managing, participants used the information obtained to enact or manage behaviors, make decisions, and alter situations encountered during the actual childbirth. During the third stage, Integrating, the participants examined both the information they had gathered and the events and activities they had experienced during childbirth. They recognized their own strengths and weaknesses and formed a new set of perceptions regarding their abilities to have control during labor and delivery. These women claimed this experience by active participation in childbirth. They sought several types of control during this time including behavioral, situational, and decisional control. Recognition of the importance of information and control to childbearing women should alert caregivers to the necessity of providing sufficient, clear information throughout the childbirth experience.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-05, Section: B, page: 3129.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1996.

School code: 0815.