Emotional and Cognitive Experiences of Pregnant Women Following Prenatal Diagnosis of Fetal Anomalies: A Qualitative Study in Iran.
Morvarid Irani, Talat Khadivzadeh, Seyyed Mohsen Asghari Nekah and 2 others
PMID 30643830WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women told their fetus had an anomaly felt shock, disbelief, and panic.
After termination, they described guilt and loss. When continuing pregnancy, they hoped for normality but worried about birth.
Key findings
01Women felt shocked, panicked, distressed, and disbelieved when told their fetus might have an anomaly.
02After pregnancy termination, women described loss of their expected child, guilt and shame, and feeling that professionals did not care about their needs.
03When continuing pregnancy, women expressed hope for normality but worried about the baby after birth, surgery, and caring for other children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in two hospitals in Mashhad, Iran, where legal rules about termination differ from other settings. Women were interviewed 2 to 23 weeks after diagnosis, so immediate reactions may not be fully captured. The study interviewed mothers only, not fathers or other family members. The findings are experiences from a qualitative sample and do not show how often these reactions occur.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that termination caused more distress than continuation. The study described women's experiences after diagnosis. It did not compare the two groups, and it did not test whether any care changed outcomes.