ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of multifetal pregnant women who underwent fetal reduction. Using a qualitative research design, we recruited ten multifetal pregnant women with fetal reduction from an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Taipei. The researcher, as a nurse counselor, collected data while providing care. Data were collected during the first counseling scheduled prior to the fetal reduction to five weeks post the procedure. Approximately five face-to-face interviews and eight phone follow-ups were completed for each subject. Data were recorded in a narrative form and analyzed based on interpretive research strategies of phenomenology. According to the data, the lived experience was categorized into seven themes: (a) pre-fetal reduction: feeling threatened by the confirmed diagnosis of multifetal pregnancy, facing guilt and conflict of undergoing fetal reduction; (b) undergoing fetal reduction: getting confused due to family's concern about fetal reduction, losing a sense of body boundary intactness, and worrying about the safety of the remaining fetuses; (c) post-fetal reduction: grieving for losing fetus, returning to the course of normal pregnancy. The findings indicate that undergoing fetal reduction impacted the physical and psychological well-being of multifetal pregnant women. Health care providers should provide individual yet holistic care in a timely fashion.