You're a 'high-risk' customer: A qualitative study of women's experiences of receiving information from health professionals regarding health problems or complications in pregnancy

Background: Experiencing complications in pregnancy is stressful for women and can impact on fetal and maternal outcomes. Supportive encounters with health professionals can reduce the worry women experience. Further research is needed to understand women's perspectives on communicating with their healthcare providers about their concerns. Aim: This study explored women's experiences of receiving information about pregnancy complications from healthcare providers and their interactions with multiple professionals and services during pregnancy. Methods: This was a qualitative interpretive study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 women experiencing pregnancy complications recruited from antenatal services at two hospitals in Sydney. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings: Women had a range of reactions to their diagnoses, including concern for their baby, for themselves and for their labour. Most women reported that communication with healthcare providers was distressing, they were not listened to and staff used insensitive, abrupt language. Women were also distressed by delays in education, receiving contradictory information and having to repeatedly share their stories with different health professionals. In some cases, this damaged the therapeutic relationship and reduced trust towards healthcare providers. Midwives were generally preferred over doctors because they had a more woman-centred approach. Conclusion: To improve women's experiences of care for pregnancy complications, it is critical to improve the communication skills of maternity service providers. Women's need for information, resources and support can best be provided by continuity of care with a named health professional, for example, a midwife working within an integrated multidisciplinary antenatal service model.

Automated summary

This qualitative study explored women's experiences of receiving information about pregnancy complications from healthcare providers and found that communication with healthcare providers was distressing for most women. They reported not being listened to and encountering insensitive and abrupt language. Delays in education, receiving contradictory information, and repeatedly sharing their stories with different health professionals also caused distress. Trust towards healthcare providers was reduced as a result. Midwives were generally preferred over doctors due to their woman-centred approach.