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Biomedical subjects

Maureen Porter

Publications and source records attributed to Maureen Porter.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Research as a therapeutic experience? An investigation of women's participation in research on ending IVF treatment.

BACKGROUND: Women participate in research for many reasons, some of them therapeutic. This paper retrospectively analyses women's motivations for participating in a study on decision making at the end of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. METHODS: A mixed methods study conducted by a practising midwife had focused on women's experiences of stopping IVF treatment after one or more unsuccessful attempts, and raised awareness of women's motivations for participating. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts permitted issues raised by the participants in the context of 'research as a therapeutic experience' to be explored. RESULTS: Reasons for participating in the study included: (1) altruism; (2) appreciation/gratitude for care received; (3) the need to debrief; and (4) gaining self-awareness and readjustment, which challenged the acceptance of childlessness. Reasons for using the research study as 'a therapeutic experience' in the context of failed IVF may be attributed to: (1) access to direct clinical care and advice; (2) opportunity for self-reflection and rationalization; (3) acceptance of reality; (4) resolution of conflict; and (5) opportunity to unburden themselves. CONCLUSION: Women appeared to use the interview process to reassure themselves about decisions made, and to seek direct clinical advice on whether to continue IVF using donor gametes.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Unfulfilled expectations: how circumstances impinge on women's reproductive choices.

Throughout Europe women are having fewer babies, but more of them are being delivered by caesarean section. There is some evidence that this major surgical procedure discourages women and/or their partners from having further children. This study is aimed at ascertaining the extent to which mode of delivery in first confinement affected women's decision-making about having another child. This paper reports results from (1) a questionnaire sent to 5300 women who delivered their first baby in Aberdeen in northeast Scotland between 1980 and 1995, but who did not have another viable pregnancy within 5 years, and (2) in-depth interviews with a stratified random sample of 82 of these respondents which covered experiences of birth, decision-making about subsequent pregnancies and infertility. Verbatim transcripts were analysed thematically. Questionnaires were returned by 3204 women (60%). Among those who had no further pregnancies, 1182 (71%) had deliberately limited their fertility. Of those who had a second child, 696 (66%) deliberately left a gap of 5 or more years between them. The factors which apparently influenced the decision to limit fertility included early intention, experience of the first, or index birth, health, lifestyle, influence of partner, age, first child and fertility problems. In interviews, women presented these factors as constraints on their behaviour, which restrained them from freely choosing to have more children and in some cases to have the number they had planned. As the decision to have only one child or to leave a large gap between children is unusual, women may have been presenting their choices in this way to make their actions appear more socially acceptable and their motivations as blameless.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Investigation of staff and patients' opinions of a proposed trial of elective single embryo transfer.

BACKGROUND: In the context of mounting concern about the risks of twin pregnancies resulting from IVF, this study aimed to assess staff and patients' attitudes towards a proposed randomized controlled trial (RCT) of elective single embryo transfer (SET) in a Scottish fertility centre. METHODS: The views of 10 members of IVF clinic staff were assessed by means of a focus group and those of 12 couples by semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Staff were aware of the risks of twin pregnancies to mothers and babies and the need for evidence of success in SET, but had reservations about the proposed RCT. The need to subject patients to unpopular scientific procedures such as randomization and blinding conflicted with their perceived caring role. They felt it would be hard to recruit and onerous to patients but nevertheless discussed how it could be successfully mounted if necessary. They debated how to ensure that consent was fully informed, and when, and how, to randomize. Patients accepted the possibility of twins but were largely unaware of risks inherent in twin pregnancies. They saw no need for a trial and found the idea of randomization unacceptable except in younger women. They would accept SET if it became unit policy and appeared unaffected by financial considerations. CONCLUSIONS: Involving affected staff at the design stage may make it easier to conduct a SET trial in their clinics. IVF patients whose ultimate goal is pregnancy are less likely to support a trial which aims to minimize twin pregnancies.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Does Caesarean section cause infertility?

The global rise in the rate of Caesarean sections (CS) during the last 20 years has coincided with an increase in the number of couples seeking help for infertility. There have been attempts to examine the link between these two conditions, and available data confirm an association between CS and infertility. The relationship is complex, however, involving more than a simple patho-physiological association. There may be a voluntary component to the causal relationship between CS and infertility, which is best explored using qualitative methods. We argue that CS does cause infertility, but the mechanism could be social/psychological rather than pathological.

Cesarean Section↗