Biomedical subjects

Yvonne Hauck

Publications and source records attributed to Yvonne Hauck.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Prevalence, self-efficacy and perceptions of conflicting advice and self-management: effects of a breastfeeding journal.

AIM: This paper reports an assessment of the effects of a breastfeeding journal on breastfeeding prevalence and perceptions of conflicting advice, self-management and self-efficacy. BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding prevalence rates in most developed countries are not meeting recommendations. Women's concerns about inconsistent advice, limited involvement in decision-making, accessibility of information and inappropriate follow-up have been recognized. Research on evaluation of interventions addressing these concerns and including antenatal and early postnatal periods is required. Method. An intervention study was conducted from July 2003 to April 2004, with control and intervention groups recruited sequentially. The intervention group received a breastfeeding journal at 36 weeks antenatally in breastfeeding classes that were attended at different times by intervention and control group members. The intervention and control groups were compared during postpartum hospitalization and 12 weeks for breastfeeding prevalence and perceptions of self-efficacy, conflicting advice and self-management. FINDINGS: No statistically significant differences were noted between the intervention and control groups in breastfeeding prevalence at 12 weeks or self-efficacy during hospitalization. There was a statistically significant difference between groups in conflicting advice at both times. Although conflicting advice continues to present a dilemma for women, levels of conflicting advice did not explain breastfeeding self-efficacy. Breastfeeding self-management was a statistically significant contributor to breastfeeding prevalence prior to the addition of breastfeeding self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Women's perceptions of their ability to manage and be actively involved in decision-making explained breastfeeding prevalence at 12-week postpartum. Efforts to encourage women's involvement in decision-making about breastfeeding are a useful strategy to promote breastfeeding.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The influence of childbirth expectations on Western Australian women's perceptions of their birth experience.

OBJECTIVES: to explore and describe the influence of childbirth expectations on women's perception of their birthing experience and expectations for subsequent births. This was the second phase of a study, the purpose of which its purpose was to determine the childbirth expectations of a cohort of Western Australian women and ascertain factors that influenced these expectations. DESIGN: a qualitative study which used an exploratory descriptive design. Data were collected from in-depth individual interviews. SETTING: Perth, Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 20 women, 11 primiparae and nine multiparae, who between them had experienced 31 births. These women had participated in phase one when they were either pregnant or had birthed within the preceding 12 months. Phase two interviews occurred 5-6 months after phase one. FINDINGS: the themes and sub-themes revealed in phase one of the study were supported in phase two. Although women held multiple expectations for birth, specific expectations were regarded as priority. Consequently, to perceive birth as positive, a woman had to achieve her priority expectations. Multiparae reported more positive birth experiences, having altered expectations as a result of previous experiences. Unaffirming birth experiences due to unmet expectations were more common after a first birth. Women with unfulfilled expectations subsequently adapted their expectations to be more achievable thus avoiding disappointment. Supportive behaviours of maternity health-care providers assisted women to evaluate their birth experience as positive even when expectations could not be achieved. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the evaluation of birth experiences as positive or negative is contingent upon achieving most, or at least the priority, childbirth expectation. Knowing a woman's expectations assists the midwife in her advocacy role. This role in assisting women to achieve their expectations is reinforced by this research. Caregivers become even more important when expectations are not able to be realised. Behaviours that encourage involvement and participation in decision-making during birth promote feelings of control, coping and feeling supported, which ultimately are needed for women to assess their birth experience as positive. Achievable expectations, such as 'being flexible' and 'only having a healthy baby' could be regarded as a lessening of ideals. The issue of whether these changing expectations are contributing to the increasing technocratic approach to birth and the resulting devaluing of the normal birth experience requires further debate.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

How social context impacts on women's fears of childbirth: a Western Australian example.

This paper addresses the limited sociological understanding of the phenomena of childbirth fear using data from a qualitative research project conducted in Western Australia. This qualitative study used an exploratory descriptive design, with 22 women identified as being fearful of birth participating in an in-depth interview. Data analysis using the method of constant comparison revealed that social context, explored within the framework of the medicalisation of childbirth, and the intervening circumstances in which the women gave birth, impacted on how and why they experienced fear. As such, this paper argues that fear of childbirth has social as well as personal dimensions and is both a prospective and retrospective phenomena. The analysis identified prospective fear as both social and personal. The social dimensions were labelled as 'fear of the unknown', 'horror stories' and 'general fear for the well-being of the baby'. Personal dimensions included the 'fear of pain', 'losing control and disempowerment' and 'uniqueness of each birth'. Retrospective fear was exclusively personal and was clustered around the themes of 'previous horror birth' and 'speed of birth'. The analysis also revealed two central factors that mediated against childbirth fear: positive relationships formed with midwives, and the support women received from their informal network. Understanding and unpacking the dimensions of women's childbirth fear, and understanding the nature of relationships that mediate women's fear, provides health care professionals with information on which to base potential intervention strategies and support women in ways that lessen rather than heighten their fear.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Reframing birth: a consequence of cesarean section.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to describe the childbirth expectations, influences and knowledge of a group of Western Australian women who experienced a cesarean section (CS) and would prefer a CS in a subsequent pregnancy. BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that a previous CS is not an indication for an elective CS in a subsequent pregnancy, but western world data indicate high probability of repeat CS. METHODS: Community advertisements invited women who had experienced a CS to participate in a telephone interview. The thematic analysis presented in this paper is derived from data collected during 2003/2004 from 49 participants who had initially expected to birth vaginal but had a CS and who had planned a CS in a subsequent pregnancy or stated that they would choose this option in a future pregnancy. FINDINGS: Before the first CS most women expected and wanted to give birth normally. After having a CS, however, many reframed vaginal birth as uncertain, unsafe and unachievable. For this group of women, the medical discourse that promoted CS as the safest option was a major influence on their decisions. As a result, they reconstructed CS as an acceptable alternative that was safer for them and their babies, allowed them to be better prepared, and was convenient. CONCLUSION: In the present climate, enabling women to keep birth 'fear' in perspective may be an important strategy if we are to improve the uptake of vaginal birth after CS and the quality of care offered to women during the normal, but major, life event of childbirth.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2005

The childbirth expectations of a self-selected cohort of Western Australian women.

OBJECTIVES: to explore and describe the labour and birth expectations of a cohort of Western Australian women, and to identify the factors that influence these expectations. DESIGN: a qualitative study using an explorative descriptive design and techniques associated with constant comparison. Data were collected from tape-recorded telephone interviews. SETTING: : Perth, Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: two hundred and two women who were pregnant or who had birthed within the last 12 months. FINDINGS: five major themes were identified. Three of the five themes reflected a positive outlook on birth. These were labelled, 'owning and believing in birth as a natural event', 'satisfaction with the birth process and outcome' and 'involvement and participation in the birthing experience'. The remaining two themes 'birth is a negative event' and 'birth is a medical event' encapsulated the women's statements that described childbirth as a potential negative and unaffirming experience. Particularly influential on the formation of childbirth expectations were the public and private discourses of childbirth, especially those related to books and magazines, and the stories of mothers and sisters. Professional discourses, women's own history, and factors such as age and life-style choices also influenced decisions and contributed to how women perceived their experiences. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the findings of the study challenge the anecdotal evidence that many contemporary western women willingly and knowingly choose or expect birth to be a medicalised event. Although midwives and other maternity healthcare providers need to help women develop realistic expectations, there is also a need to examine the influence of healthcare professionals in perpetuating a technical approach to birth. The findings do, however, confirm that some women are anxious, scared and frightened of the childbirth experience. It is essential that research continues to focus on developing strategies to assist women confront and deal with these fears.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2002

The path of determination: exploring the lived experience of breastfeeding difficulties.

Breastfeeding is the method of choice for infants and most women support the statement that 'breast is best'. Although the majority of Australian women do initiate breastfeeding, many also encounter difficulties in what they assume to be an easy, natural process. Additionally, a number of women face difficulties significant enough to warrant additional support from resources such as the Breastfeeding Centre of Western Australia. Managing these difficulties influences mothers' perceptions of their breastfeeding experiences. However, the stories of these women have not been addressed in the literature. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of mothers with breastfeeding difficulties, who presented to the Breastfeeding Centre of Western Australia. In-depth interviews with ten women revealed three main themes: 'path of determination, 'staying on the path; and 'coming off the path'. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on infant feeding and provides insight to health care professionals working with breastfeeding women.

Adult↗