title: Women's experience of unplanned out-of-hospital birth in Sweden - a phenomenological description.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Between 0.5 and 2 percent of women planning to give birth in a hospital environment in Sweden will have an unplanned out-of-hospital birth. Few studies have described mothers' experiences of out-of-hospital births and none on a Swedish population. In an attempt to fill this gap, we have made this pilot study designed to capture mothers' experiences of unplanned out-of-hospital births in Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative interviews with eight Swedish women, one to three years after they experienced an unplanned out-of-hospital birth. Data were analysed using the method of phenomenological description.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The meaning of giving unplanned birth outside a hospital environment was "The lived experience of a pendular movement between the good fortune and pride in managing the situation and the fear of what could have happened when giving unplanned birth outside a hospital environment." In the analysis two clusters emerged that supported the essence: Balancing Emotions and Handling Unfamiliar Actions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study contributes to an understanding of the natural processes when giving birth. The findings can be useful when communicating the experience of unplanned out-of-hospital birth to parents in antenatal classes. The women could be encouraged to listen and trust their own body signs as a preparation for giving birth in any type of setting. Guidelines for taking care of women with out-of-hospital birth experiences are suggested.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden. Electronic address: ker@du.se.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Erlandsson
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lustig
authors.affiliation: Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D009035:Mothers; D009321:Natural Childbirth; D036801:Parturition; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accidental out-of-hospital birth; Natural birth; Phenomenology; Unplanned out-of-hospital birth