title: A qualitative study of psychosocial factors affecting expecting mothers who choose to continue a cleft lip and/or palate pregnancy to term.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prenatal detection of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) leads to high rates of induced termination of pregnancy. There has been little research in Taiwan done on the psychosocial factors affecting those who decide to continue their CL/P pregnancy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study identified the principal psychosocial factors that affect expecting mothers who chose to continue their CL/P pregnancy to term.
  
  
  METHODS
  Purposive sampling recruited expecting mothers with CL/P-diagnosed fetuses. Recruiting took place between May 2000 and March 2002 at a tertiary referral hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. Those who had decided to continue their pregnancy to term were asked to participate. Researchers obtained oral informed consent to be interviewed during the week following CL/P diagnosis. Interviews for each participant were completed within a 2-week period. All information was given to the interviewees in written and verbal forms before providing their written informed consent to participate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The five major themes central to participant experiences included (1) loss of self-value as a mother, (2) blaming the mother, (3) indecision about whether to continue the pregnancy, (4) anxiety triggered by insufficient information, and (5) burden of care and concerns about potential disadvantaged status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant psychological distress was identified among participants following their fetus' CL/P diagnosis. It was encouraging to learn that all participants told researchers in postpartum interviews that they did not regret the decision to take their child to term.
authors: Department of Nursing, Chang Hwa University of Medical Technology.
authors: Yueh-Tzu
authors: YT
authors: Hsieh
authors: Yu-Mei Yu
authors: YM
authors: Chao
authors: Judith Shu-Chu
authors: JS
authors: Shiao
mesh_terms: D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D036301:Qualitative Research