#PreeclampsiaSurvivor on Instagram: The Hero’s Journey

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a common perinatal condition with serious and adverse short- and long-term impacts. Deriving from narrative theory and analyzing Instagram posts with the #preeclampsiasurvivor hashtag, we examined how women use illness-related narratives and images to share vivid, lived stories of preeclampsia. An analysis revealed subjective and “real” experiences of women identifying as preeclampsia survivor and their ability to tell “my story.” We find the hero’s journey (i.e. quest narrative, monomyth) framework provides a useful reappraisal tool for women managing preeclampsia and offers maternity care practitioners a new perspective on how to engage preeclampsia patients and survivors.

Keywords:

• Preeclampsia
• digital narratives
• hero’s journey
• women’s health

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Four categories of HDP include 1) chronic hypertension, 2) preeclampsia-eclampsia, 3) preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension, and 4) gestational hypertension.

Additional information

Funding

The study was partly funded by National Science Foundation (IIS #1924092).