The purpose to this study is to use a naturalistic approach to describe the childbearing woman's perspective of her preterm labor and delivery experience and recent stressful life experiences.
The specific aims of the study are: (1) to identify how women describe, interpret, and manage preterm labor and subsequent preterm or term delivery; (2) to identify life experiences, occurring during pregnancy, which preterm labor women view as stressful; and (3) to identify how women describe, interpret, and manage stressful life experiences occurring during pregnancy. The perspectives of 50-60 women who are hospitalized for preterm labor (before 37 weeks) will be documented with formal semi-structured, tape recorded interviews during the intervals between hospitalization, and with the Norbeck Life Events Questionnaire after delivery. Sociodemographic, medical, obstetrical, and behavioral variables will be measured and used to describe the sample and to estimate the level of risk for preterm low birth weight birth. Analysis of the qualitative interview data will include the development of descriptive and theoretical coding categories, the identification of themes within and across categories, and the conceptualization of a grounded theory about women's explanation and management of preterm labor. Additional analysis will include a comparison of women's perspectives of stressful life events on the Life Events Questionnaire with their perspective of stressful life experiences from the interviews. The study results are expected to provide the foundation for a model of how women interpret and manage preterm labor and stressful life experiences during pregnancy.
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