Routine ultrasound investigations in the second trimester of pregnancy: the experiences of immigrant parents in Sweden

Summary, in English

Objective: to describe the experiences of immigrant parents of an ultrasound examination in the second trimester of pregnancy, highlighting information, communication, thoughts, feelings and well-being. Methods: An exploratory, qualitative study using in-depth interviews with parents separately. Content analysis was used. A total of nine Farsi-speaking couples, in all 18 persons, who now live in Sweden, were interviewed. Results: Four main categories emerged from the parents' descriptions: experiencing professionals who were informative and communicative, experiencing the first encounter with their unborn child, experiencing a well-planned routine and experiencing a humanistic encounter within the health-care organisation. Conclusion: Parents saw the ultrasound examination as a means of: getting visual confirmation of their pregnancy, reassurance about the health and well-being of their foetus and making connection with their baby; and receiving confirmation of their baby's gender. The parents were impressed by the quality of their communication with the care-givers, which influenced their judgement of the whole procedure, including the technical quality of the care.

• Author: Azar Ranji; Anna-Karin Dykes; Pernilla Ny
• Department/s: Department of Health Sciences
• Publishing year: 2012
• Language: English
• Pages: 312-325
• Publication/Series: Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 3
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2012.717266
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Topic: Psychology
• Keywords: ultrasound; pregnancy; knowledge; immigrant; experience
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0264-6838