Selective reduction (SR) is a medical procedure commonly offered to women with a grand multifetal pregnancy (GMFP), that is, a gestation involving triplets or more. SR involves terminating one or more fetuses in the hope of reducing the morbidity and mortality of the remaining fetuses. As these pregnancies are typically the result of infertility treatment, the woman's decision to undergo or forgo SR is particularly difficult. The goal of this predoctoral research is to describe the decision-making experience of the woman who has considered selective reduction (SR) of her grand multifetal pregnancy (GMFP). This project directly addresses the decision making of the woman with a GMFP, her information needs, and the roles of nurses in such decisions. The research is designed as a phenomenological study and will employ Giorgi's approach. Participants will be obtained through an agreement with the Triplet Connection, a nonprofit support and educational network for families diagnosed with triplets or more. This study will offer significant contributions to clinical nursing ethics as little data exists regarding the decision- making experience concerning SR. The broad, long term objectives of this proposal are to: (1) Improve the nursing care of women experiencing GMFP's, (2) Obtain data to guide policy-making decisions regarding assisted reproductive technologies (ART); and (3) Conduct clinical ethics research focused on perinatal decision making.
The specific aims are to: (l) Describe the decision making experience of the woman who has considered SR of her GMFP; (2) Identify the essential information needed by the woman in order to make an informed decision to undergo or forgo SR of her GMFP; (3) Identify any effects on the woman from making the decision to undergo or forgo SR of her GMFP; (4) Identify the role(s) of the nurse throughout the process of the woman's decision to undergo or forgo a SR of her GMFP.
| Collopy, Kate Sullivan (2004) ""I couldn't think that far"": infertile women's decision making about multifetal reduction. Res Nurs Health 27:75-86 |
