Pregnancy as public property: The experience of couples following diagnosis of a foetal anomaly
Introduction
As a naïve and excited student nurse touring my training hospital, I encountered a woman in labour and said ‘What a beautiful day to have a baby’. She looked at me, a beaming 18-year-old straight from high school, and said ‘My baby is dead’. I had no idea that birth and death could occur together. This mortifying and unforgettable event coupled with later experience as a midwife, led me to wonder how people assume pregnancy will result in a healthy baby. I also wondered why strangers feel free to comment on a women's pregnancy, in essence, treating her like public property. This paper explores how couples experience becoming public property after diagnosis of a serious or lethal foetal anomaly and in essence, articulates part of the answer to the overarching research question; what is the experience of couples who continue pregnancy following the diagnosis of a foetal anomaly?
Section snippets
Literature review
In keeping with the nature of phenomenological studies, the review process was guided by integrative methods1 which allow for inclusion of experimental and non experimental research, theoretical and empirical literature. Multiple databases were used in the search process using the keywords, pregnancy (and variances) combined with public, property, midwifery and embodiment.
The search yielded feminist and sociological research articles and commentaries on the female body as a foetal vessel
Methodology and method
The philosophical foundation of this study is Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology which outlines the embodied nature of human perception.16 This means a person is influenced and shaped by culture, society and interactions between self and others. Hence, Merleau-Ponty argues that bracketing, the suspending of the researchers views, emotions and backgrounds is impossible.17, 18, 19 Using bracketing would breach the tenets of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology and align with the reductive ideology of
Findings
Four themes emerged during data analysis and this paper will focus on the first theme, becoming public property. Pseudonyms have been used to protect participant's privacy.
Becoming public property: ‘People treat you like public property’
While consideration shown to pregnant women can be touching, comments on a woman's behaviour are hurtful if a woman is already feeling guilt and self-blame for not producing a ‘perfect’ baby:
People treat you like public property…yesterday I had two ladies let me skip in front of them to use the bathroom…I have people smile at me when I’m walking through public places. You get the other side where…if you get a coffee they assume that you’re uninformed and irresponsible. Bridgette
Shared humanity
The assumption of a healthy baby: ‘People are so excited when they see a pregnant woman’
The world is directly known and experienced with each person having their own perceptions, history and beliefs.16 People assume that the pregnancy is normal and are taken by surprise when told the truth, and this added to participants’ distress. It is probable that when people discover there is a foetal anomaly they are worried about what to say and are also frightened that this could happen to them:
People are so excited when they see a pregnant woman and they know there's going to be a new
Embodiment and disembodiment: ‘He's not the one pregnant’
For women, pregnancy is embodied; the foetus is always present and in late pregnancy, this presence is evident to others. For males, pregnancy is disembodied and experienced through their female partners. Tara expressed the consequences of embodiment and disembodiment:
He's not the one pregnant, so he could go out…and they don’t even question anything, whereas I go out and my clients, they’re like ‘Oh you’re pregnant…and it's sooo hard cause…most of the time it is very nice when someone comments
Responding to the public gaze: ‘It's not like you go around telling everybody’
The profoundness of life is tied up with relationships and the words and actions of others have the capacity to inflict pain. For participants, it was difficult to decide what to say and how to respond to questions regarding due date, gender and preparations for pregnancy:
Every day, every day…‘Oh, how are you doing? You must be so excited’…it is just an everyday reminder and then you struggle with ‘Okay, do I tell them? Do I not?’ Anna
Often a minimal response was given:
If it's total strangers,
Discussion
For women, being treated as public property was a traumatic experience. In contrast, their male partners described feeling guilty because they could go out without being treated like public property. Pregnancy is embodied for women and therefore visible. Alternately, for men the pregnancy was disembodied, invisible and experienced vicariously.
Humanity exists in a shared world where interactions are laden with meaning21 and influenced by social norms.9, 10 People become exposed and vulnerable
Recommendations
Continuity of care by a known midwife is ideal and benefits women as well as men.29, 30 Women are empowered by midwives who see and feel with them on their journey.31 Therefore midwives are ideally placed to provide supportive care for couples after diagnosis of a foetal anomaly.32, 33 Midwives can advise women and their partners about strategies to help reduce the negative impact of becoming public property. One strategy is for parents to inform a key person who becomes the main point of
Conclusion
It is common for pregnant women to be treated as public property and this has positive as well as negative aspects. Special consideration may be given to women who are pregnant. However, serious negative consequences occur when women are subject to condemnation if their behaviours do not fit socially constructed norms, exacerbating concerns that they may have somehow caused the foetal anomaly. For couples in this study, becoming public property and the general assumption that pregnancy will
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