The diagnosis and lived experience of polycystic ovary syndrome: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To explore the impact of the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome on health/ill health identity, how women experience this diagnosis and their health beliefs. BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common and heterogeneous condition, giving rise to a wide range of different health concerns. Previous research on polycystic ovary syndrome has been dominated by the medical perspective and less is known about the experiences and needs of women. DESIGN: A qualitative study of 32 premenopausal adult women with polycystic ovary syndrome (diagnosis confirmed by Rotterdam criteria), aged between 18 and 45 years, recruited from a primary and secondary care setting. METHODS: Thematic analysis of transcripts from 11 focus groups conducted between 2013-2015. RESULTS/FINDINGS: Women identified a range of concerns affecting personal and reproductive identity, health knowledge and beliefs: (1) delays and barriers to diagnosis; (2) general lack of empathy by the medical profession; (3) difficulty in accessing specialist referral; (4) lack of information from professionals; (5) inconsistent and sometimes unsatisfactory experiences with medications; (6) insufficient help and advice regarding in/fertility; (7) relative lack of awareness or concern about longer term risks such as diabetes; and (8) significant discrepancies between the beliefs of women with polycystic ovary syndrome and how they experienced the attitudes of healthcare professionals. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a divergence between women's experience and attitudes of healthcare professionals. The diagnosis, support and lived experience of women with polycystic ovary syndrome could be enhanced by better professional recognition of these concerns, improved knowledge and communication about polycystic ovary syndrome and better access to support and specialist advice.

"Renewed" "older" motherhood/mothering: a qualitative exploration.

This UK-based qualitative study explored multiparous women's experiences of being "older" mothers. Respondents were "renewed mothers" who had a child/children relatively early in their reproductive careers and then again after 35 years of age. Key themes arising from the empirical data were: instrumental role of male partners in post-35 mothering, purported "renewal" of self in the face of menopause/diminution of mothering, caring for teenagers and babies/toddlers simultaneously, and subjection to criticisms of "wrong-aged" motherhood. Experiences of "renewed" "older" mothers suggest significant hard work is necessitated both in terms of mothering and presentation of self as an appropriate mother.

Raising awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome.

AIM: To identify women's experience of receiving information about polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and develop an information booklet. METHOD: Women from Cornwall with a diagnosis of PCOS participated in focus groups to discuss their experiences of the condition. FINDINGS: Participants described difficulties in sourcing credible and helpful information about PCOS. CONCLUSION: A booklet was produced for women with PCOS to improve their knowledge of the condition.

Young women's experience of termination and miscarriage: a qualitative study.

In Britain, teenage pregnancy is seen as both a cause and a consequence of social exclusion. The emphasis on 'prevention' of teenage pregnancy and a limited conception of 'support' within the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (Social Exclusion Unit, 1999) positions parenthood for young people as a negative choice; this dominant discourse is likely to influence young people's reproductive decisions and experiences. With this in mind, this article focuses on a key finding from a multidisciplinary empirical research study, conducted in a city in the West Midlands of England, which considered and explored young people's experience of support before and following termination and miscarriage. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with professionals and practitioners (n = 15), young mothers (n = 4) and one young father. Although termination and miscarriage are generally perceived as distinct and different issues, the data suggest that the issues become more blurred where younger women are concerned. The experiences of young, 'inappropriately pregnant teenagers' often remain unacknowledged and devalued. This analysis highlights the social and political context in which young women experience termination and miscarriage, and suggests that termination and miscarriage should be acknowledged as significant medical, social and emotional events in the lives of young people.

Occupational therapy practice and patient/client participation in religious occupations: a scoping review protocol.

REVIEW OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map information on how occupational therapists address their clients' perceived and experienced barriers to participation in religious occupations as part of the occupational therapy intervention.Specifically the review questions are.

Whose choice is it anyway? Decision making, control and conception.

Contemporary societies in the developed world are characterized by the expectation that women wish to and are able to control their experiences of fertility. Changes in medical technology and advances in reproductive medicine have played an important role in strengthening this expectation, together with other changes, such as the availability of free contraception. However, this article draws on data from two qualitative sociological research projects which demonstrate that women's expectations of reproductive choice and control are not always realized. Women's experiences of fertility are mediated by a dominant discourse which assumes that women both want and will achieve biological motherhood. The data indicate that women actively 'try' to achieve conception with the expectation that this is both controllable and easy. In some instances this seems to be the case, but many women soon realize that achieving conception is sometimes problematic or, indeed, impossible. This article concludes by arguing that although women may wish to control their experiences of fertility, their expectations of choice and control are frequently an illusion.

Griefwork online: perinatal loss, lifecourse disruption and online support.

The Internet provides new opportunities for accessing and giving support following perinatal loss and in this article we report on a project concerned to explore the use of social networking and online networks following such an experience. Perinatal loss can be defined and perceived as biographical disruption yet this type of loss sometimes lacks social recognition. Our ethnographic study reveals that not only do mothers, and sometimes fathers and grandmothers, seek support on the Internet but they also engage in griefwork (the work the bereaved do with others).

Women with pre-existing diabetes and their experiences of maternity care services.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: the aims of the study were to explore the experience of maternity care services used by women whose pregnancy is complicated by pre-existing diabetes, to gain a deeper understanding of service use and to identify aspects of services that women with pre-existing diabetes would like improved. BACKGROUND: for women with pre-existing diabetes; pregnancy, birth and the transition to motherhood can be complex and even chaotic. The aim of specialist diabetes care given during pregnancy and delivered by a specialist team of health-care professionals is to optimise pregnancy outcome. However, how health-care professionals within maternity services provide care and support women with pre-existing diabetes during pregnancy and early motherhood has received limited attention. DESIGN: an exploratory study utilising a grounded theory approach was conducted. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 respondents; one-to-one, dyad and group interviews were undertaken to fully explore issues. Analysis was undertaken by sub-groups of the research team with at least two members working on each of them. FINDINGS: three themes were identified from interviews: empathic care with care more focused on diabetes not pregnancy; feeling judged by health-care professionals (with nearly all respondents reporting negative encounters of consultation with the specialist team); and the notion of expertise (with respondents reporting feeling frustrated when it seemed health-care professionals did not value their expertise). CONCLUSIONS: the study emphasised the importance of the health-care relationship for pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes. For outcomes to be optimised women need to be able to form open and trusting relationships with the health-care team. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: this study highlights the need for the health-care team not only to provide physical care to optimise outcome but also supportive care to assist women with pregnancies complicated by diabetes to achieve the best possible physical and emotional health and well-being.

Experiences of fathers shortly after the birth of their preterm infants.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of fathers shortly after the birth of their preterm infants. DESIGN/METHOD: A focused ethnography conducted over 33 months (2003­2006) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a large U.K. National Health Trust (NHS) teaching hospital. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with fathers (n = 10), and an ethnographic survey distributed to NICU staff (n = 87). Practices and relationships with fathers were concurrently analyzed thematically through the conceptual perspective of emotion work. FINDINGS: Fathers' emotional reactions to their experiences were described in three themes: emotional withdrawal and control, stereotyping, and mixed feelings. Fathers' emotional behaviors were governed by complex, culturally determined conventions and expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Fathers engaged in considerable effort to manage their emotions as they attempted to reconcile the tension between what they wanted to feel and what they thought others expected them to feel. The results of this study support the view that focusing on emotional externalities alone tends to underplay the amount of emotion work carried out by less expressive individuals; this "silent emotion work" was characteristic of the fathers in this study.

Pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes: family support in managing the pregnancy process.

In this paper, we report on findings from a Diabetes UK funded qualitative research project concerned to explore daughter/mother relationships during pregnancy and the transition to motherhood of women with pre-existing diabetes. In-depth qualitative interviews took place with 12 pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes and four of their mothers, three (male) partners and one father. The study was exploratory in nature and aimed to consider what support pregnant women felt they needed and what support they received from their mothers and other family members to discover policy and practice needs and identify further research concerns. Here, we focus on one theme from the data: management of the pregnancy process from planning for pregnancy and through pregnancy with specific reference to relationships with family members. Respondents reflect on the relationship between diabetes and pregnancy planning, on managing pregnancy and on their relationships with healthcare professionals. The data suggest overwhelmingly that pre-existing diabetes is a significant aspect of pregnancy planning and pregnancy for women and that managing the pregnancy process is a more positive experience if they have the support of family members.

Mother/daughter relationships during pregnancy and the transition to motherhood of women with pre-existing diabetes: raising some issues.

In pregnancies complicated by pre-existing diabetes, there is a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcome. Several reports including the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health, Diabetes in Pregnancy--are we providing the best care? (2007) highlighted the need for family involvement before/during pregnancy and in early motherhood with the aim of making pregnancy and the transition to motherhood a positive and fulfilling experience. Exploring the midwifery, sociological and diabetes literature may assist in gaining a better understanding of the complexities surrounding conception, pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood within the context of diabetes.

Conceiving Time? Women who do or do not conceive.

This article explores the importance of time for an understanding of women's experiences of reproductive identity. In order to do this we draw on data from two separate qualitative research projects. The first project is concerned with the experiences of conception, pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood in primagravidae, whilst the second focuses on the experiences of individuals (especially women) who defined themselves (at the time of the fieldwork, or some time previously) as 'involuntarily childless' and/or 'infertile'. These two areas are usually treated as separate; this article, however, explores similarities between them in terms of time and medicalisation. Our central concern, then, is with exploring the similarities of experience for women who do or do not conceive.