title: Living on the edge of being overstretched--a Norwegian qualitative study of employed pregnant women.
abstract: In this study, our aim was to explore female employees' experiences of work during pregnancy and their expectations of becoming a mother for the first time. We conducted 10 interviews and analyzed the data using qualitative content analysis. The main finding, living on the edge of being overstretched, contained two themes: being exhausted by adapting to professional life and being prepared for becoming a mother. In order to increase the well-being of pregnant employees, women should be provided with information from their supervisors and health care services about pregnancy-related life changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway. marit.alstveit@uis.no
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alstveit
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Severinsson
authors.forename: Bjørg
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karlsen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009664:Norway; D016272:Occupational Health; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012648:Self Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017748:Time Management; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology