193
Views
9
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Routine ultrasound investigations in the second trimester of pregnancy: the experiences of immigrant parents in Sweden

, &
Pages 312-325 | Received 02 May 2011, Accepted 14 Jul 2012, Published online: 28 Aug 2012
 

Abstract

Objective: to describe the experiences of immigrant parents of an ultrasound examination in the second trimester of pregnancy, highlighting information, communication, thoughts, feelings and well-being. Methods: An exploratory, qualitative study using in-depth interviews with parents separately. Content analysis was used. A total of nine Farsi-speaking couples, in all 18 persons, who now live in Sweden, were interviewed. Results: Four main categories emerged from the parents’ descriptions: experiencing professionals who were informative and communicative, experiencing the first encounter with their unborn child, experiencing a well-planned routine and experiencing a humanistic encounter within the healthcare organisation. Conclusion: Parents saw the ultrasound examination as a means of: getting visual confirmation of their pregnancy, reassurance about the health and well-being of their foetus and making connection with their baby; and receiving confirmation of their baby’s gender. The parents were impressed by the quality of their communication with the care-givers, which influenced their judgement of the whole procedure, including the technical quality of the care.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.