What it does and does not do: Effects of ultrasound viewing on women's intention to terminate a pregnancy.

Ultrasound imaging is a renowned prenatal technology used globally to assess foetal growth, viability and abnormalities. In South Africa, ultrasound viewing has not been made mandatory for women who want to terminate their pregnancies. The purpose of this study was to provide a deeper understanding of the effects of ultrasound viewing on women's intention to terminate their pregnancies. Fifteen women in their first trimester were recruited for the study from a community health centre mandated for abortion. Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological analysis method was adopted for the study. Three major themes emerged from the data analysis: motivation beyond ultrasound viewing, the emotional burden of the experience, and viewing the ultrasound image as punishment. The study concluded that even though most participants reported the ultrasound viewing negatively affected their person, their reason for termination was so strong that they would not change their minds. However, the ultrasound viewing helped three participants to earnestly reflect on their situations, weigh the pros and cons, and subsequently decide to continue their pregnancy.

The support group impact on enhancing the self-worth of women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence.

BACKGROUND:  Terminating a pregnancy can be a traumatic life event, resulting in negative emotions that can diminish women's self-worth. Support from different sources, including health support groups, could be beneficial in restoring a woman's self-worth. This article aimed to present findings on the impact of a support group intervention on the self-worth of women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence. METHODS:  A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, was used to collect data. Thematic analysis guided the data analysis. RESULTS:  Five themes emerged from the data: reasons for joining the support group; enhanced emotional and physical wellbeing; self-forgiveness; spiritual growth and participants' voices. CONCLUSION:  Participants described why they needed to join the support group. It became clear that the intercession was effective in the short term as it enhanced participants' self-worth by encouraging them to accept themselves thereby altering their self-condemning emotions, replacing them with self-love.Contribution: The study recommends that a support group should be considered as a backup for women who terminated a pregnancy and have lost their self-worth.

Interaction of culture and grief amongst women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence: A narrative approach.

BACKGROUND: Culture plays a vital role in resolving grief in African communities. However, women who terminate a pregnancy in adolescence are typically not exposed to cultural rituals that could ease their grief. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to explore the interaction of culture and grief amongst women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence. METHOD: A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken using a narrative approach. Unstructured interviews were conducted to solicit narratives from 11 women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence. RESULTS: Data were analysed through narrative, thematic data analysis. Three themes emerged from the findings: delayed post-traumatic growth, low body esteem and an alteration in the development of maternal identity. CONCLUSION: The study intended to explore the interaction of culture and grief amongst women who terminated a pregnancy in adolescence. The researcher determined that women who had not honoured their culture because of the secrecy surrounding the termination of pregnancy had delayed healing and an altered self-image.

Foreign nurse educators' lived experiences of incivility: The case for Botswana.

BACKGROUND: In light of current economic prosperity and subsequent attainment of upper-middle-income country status, Botswana attracted nurse educators from other African countries. Within this cross-cultural environment, anti-immigrant sentiments have catalysed incidents of incivility, affecting the quality of teaching and learning outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore experiences of incivility amongst foreign nurse educators and how it impacts their work and livelihood. METHOD: This study employed a qualitative approach, using interpretive phenomenology. In-depth interviews using a developed guide were conducted with 13 foreign nurse educators working as nurse educators in Botswana. Thematic analysis was conducted in accordance with interpretive phenomenology, where transcriptions were drafted after each interview. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the study findings: hostile behaviour, discrimination and inequitable application of procedures and processes. Discrimination as a theme has two sub-themes, namely, workplace injustice and individual injustice. CONCLUSION: The study found that foreign nurse educators working in Botswana experience incivility. From the findings, the study strongly recommends application of equitable job opportunities to all employees, including foreign nurse educators who are employed to meet the shortage of nurse educators in Botswana. The researchers are of the opinion that the nurse educator shortage will persist in Botswana, partly because of the nursing profession rendered unattractive by hostile social interactions amongst nurse educators' exclusion of foreign nurses from benefits enjoyed by local nurse educators, workplace injustice targeting foreign nurse educators, as well as inequitable application of policies and processes that affect foreign nurse educators.