Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
BackgroundSelf-reliance (the need to rely on one’s own efforts and abilities) is cited as a potential coping strategy for decreased or absent social support during pregnancy. Little data exists on how women view self-reliance in pregnancy.MethodsWe recruited women from urban, walk-in pregnancy testing clinics from June 2014–June 2015. Women aged 16 to 44 and at less than 24 weeks gestational age were eligible. Participants completed an enrollment survey and in-person, semi-structured interviews. We used framework analysis to identify key concepts and assess thematic relationships.ResultsEighty-four English-speaking women completed qualitative interviews. Participants averaged 26 years of age and 7 weeks estimated gestational age. Most identified as Black (54%) or Hispanic (20%), were unemployed or homemakers (52%), unmarried (92%), and had at least one child (67%). Most did not intend to get pregnant (61%) and planned to continue their pregnancy and parent (65%). We identified self-reliance as a prevalent concept that almost half (48%) of participants discussed in relationship to their pregnancy. Self-reliance in pregnancy consisted of several subthemes: 1) past experiences, 2) expectations of motherhood, 3) financial independence, 4) decision making, and 5) parenting.ConclusionsSelf-reliance is an important aspect of women’s reproductive lives and is threaded through women’s past and current thoughts, feelings, experiences and decisions about pregnancy. Women’s belief in their own self-reliance as well as a recognition of the limits of self-reliance merits further research, especially as a potential strategy to cope with decreased or absent social support during pregnancy.
Highlights
Self-reliance is cited as a potential coping strategy for decreased or absent social support during pregnancy
Given the lack of research evaluating self-reliance among pregnant women, we address the concept of self-reliance as described by a diverse urban cohort of women following confirmation of a new pregnancy
We found the theme of self-reliance to consist of several intersecting subthemes: 1) past experiences of self-reliance, 2) expectations of motherhood, 3) financial independence, 4) decision making about this pregnancy, and 5) self-reliance in parenting
Summary
Self-reliance (the need to rely on one’s own efforts and abilities) is cited as a potential coping strategy for decreased or absent social support during pregnancy. When social support is low or absent, some have posited that pregnant women use resilience, optimism, and self-reliance as coping strategies [9, 16,17,18,19,20]. Self-reliance is a similar but distinct concept from resilience or optimism and conveys a dependence on personal resources and abilities as opposed to those of McNamara et al BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:393 others [19, 20]. Women may employ these potential coping strategies at various points in their reproductive lives and these strategies may intersect and overlap. Self-reliance has been described as a positive coping strategy for life stress and lack of social support among pregnant HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa [19] and for first-time parents’ experiencing home-based postnatal care in Sweden [20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
