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. 2022 Jan 10;19(1):5.
doi: 10.1186/s12978-021-01321-6.

Death-stricken survivor mother: the lived experience of near miss mothers

Sedigheh Abdollahpour  1 , Abbas Heydari  2 , Hosein Ebrahimipour  3 , Farhad Faridhoseini  4 , Talat Khadivzadeh  5
Affiliations

Death-stricken survivor mother: the lived experience of near miss mothers

Sedigheh Abdollahpour et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract

Background: A Near Miss Mother (NMM) who survives life-threatening conditions, experiences intense physical, emotional, and psychological consequences following the maternal near-miss (MNM) events. The aim of this study was therefore to explore indepth understanding meaning of NMM everyday lived experiences on the social and cultural background of Iran.

Methods: This qualitative study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenology procedure. The study was conducted in hospitals affiliated with the Educational, Research and Treatment Centerwhich usually handle the NMMs. The sampling was purposeful with a maximum variation of eleven NMMs. Datawere collected using unstructured face-to-face interviews, and thetranscribed data were analyzed using Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner's seven-stage thematic analysis approach.

Results: "Death-stricken survivor mother" was the central emerged theme, and three extracted sub-themes included: "Distorted psyche on a journey to death", "physical destruction due to an ominous event ", and the "vicissitudinous life after reviving ". These sub-themes, in turn, involved 12 sub-themes that emerged from 38 common meanings and 1200 codes.

Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that the living conditions of NMMs are mixed in all aspects of the MNM event. They need a supportive program that includes additional follow-up visits, psychological support from the time of hospitalization until long-time after discharge, alleviation of social, sexual, and financial worries to return them to the normal life, as well as psychosocial rehabilitation to increase their life quality. Furthermore, post-discharge care in NMMs should be done actively and directly at their homes.

Keywords: Lived experience; Maternal morbidity; Maternal near miss; Qualitative study.

Plain language summary

A maternal near miss (MNM) is a life-threatening condition experienced by a mother with organ failure due to severe maternal morbidity. Near miss mother (NMM) experiences adverse outcome such as physical, emotional, and psychological consequences after near miss event. Understanding the meaning of these mothers' lived experience and listening to their voices will help in reducing the burden of complications and will be effective in rehabilitating the disability created in their life. "Death-stricken survivor mother" was the central emerged theme resulting from the study of phenomenology. The main body of this theme reflects the severe physical, psychological burden and vicissitudes life. Server maternal morbidity due pregnancy and childbirth, have made NMM mother's life very different from those of normal mothers. The living conditions of these mothers are mixed in all aspects of the MNM event. Long-term physical and psychological damages they have endured, should be on the agenda of women's health policy makers to support them for years after discharge with integrated care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

References

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