[Adaptation in pregnant women: a descriptive phenomenological study using Giorgi's approach]

Purpose

This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experience and meaning of pregnant women's adaptation.

Methods

Ten pregnant women from an ongoing Pregnant Couples' Cohort Study agreed to participate in this study. The data were collected through telephone in-depth interviews regarding what they experienced and felt about pregnancy adaptation. The qualitative data were analyzed using Giorgi's method of descriptive phenomenology.

Results

Five core situation components were extracted from the raw data, along with 12 themes and 33 focal meanings. The five core situations were 1) first recognizing the pregnancy, 2) pregnancy-related changes, 3) the upcoming birth, 4) the postpartum period, and 5) parenting. The 12 themes were as follows: "anxiety, pressure, and embarrassment due to pregnancy," "efforts to adapt to physical changes," "efforts to adapt to the psychological difficulties of pregnancy," "efforts to adapt to the financial burden and role changes caused by pregnancy," "connecting with the fetus," "adapting to a new marital relationship centering on the baby," "the frustration of childbirth," "fear of childbirth," "postpartum care, need help with lactation planning," "parenting beyond what I imagined" "dad's willingness to participate in parenting," and "career disconnect and consideration of workplace needs."

Conclusion

We identified that pregnant women experience adaptation in physical, psychological, relational, and social aspects. The thematic clusters identified be used to develop nursing interventions to promote women's adaptation to pregnancy.