Causal explanations of miscarriage amongst Qataris

Abstract

BackgroundDespite its commonality, there is a paucity of literature on miscarriage in non-Western societies. In particular, there is little understanding of how people ascribe cause to miscarriage. This research sought to gain an in-depth understanding of notions of miscarriage causality and risk amongst Qataris.MethodsThe study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative approach and collected data during 18 months of ethnographic research in Qatar, including semi-structured interviews. The sample includes 60 primary participants (20 pregnant women and 40 women who had recently miscarried), and 55 secondary participants including family members, health care providers, religious scholars and traditional healers. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Primary participants were interviewed in Arabic. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data was analysed using an inductive thematic approach, which involved identification and application of multiple codes to different text segments. Data were encoded manually and examined for recurrences across the data set. Similar quotations were grouped into subcategories and further categorized into main themes.ResultsA number of key themes emerged, revealing Qatari women attributed miscarriages to a number of factors including: supernatural forces, such as God’s will and evil eye; lifestyle, such as physical activities and consuming particular substances; medical conditions, such as diabetes; and emotional state, such as stress, and emotional upset. Resting, avoiding stress and upset, maintaining healthy diet, and spiritual healing (ruqyah) are seen as a means to avoid miscarriage.ConclusionPractices and beliefs around miscarriage are embedded in social, cultural, religious and medical frameworks. Understanding the socio-cultural context and understandings of explanatory theories can enhance health care providers’ understandings, resulting in improved communication and care.

A Systematic Review to Compare Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Pregestational Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes

“…Unexplained stillbirths at term in maternal diabetes are attributed to maternal hyperglycaemia and foetal hyperinsulinaemia, foetal hypoxia and acidaemia and cardiomyopathy due to glycogen deposition in the myocardium [ 68 , 69 ]. Maternal diabetes has also been associated with an increased risk of miscarriages and habitual abortions [ 70 , 71 ]. Animal models have shown that maternal diabetes affects pre-implantation in the embryo developmental stages.…”

Qualitative research in the Arabic language. When should translations to English occur? A literature review

“…, 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 Saudi Arabia (n = 5), 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 Jordan (n = 4), 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 and 3 studies each were conducted in the USA 32 , 33 , 34 and Qatar. 35 , 36 , 37 Two studies were conducted in Palestine, 38 , 39 and one study each was conducted in Canada, 40 Sweden 41 and Turkey. 42 …”

“… 12 , 14 , 15. , 16 , 20 , 22 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 38 , 40 , 42 Five studies used both interviews and focus groups, 20 , 24 , 36 , 37 , 38 and one study used an 18-month long ethnographic study method. 37 All of the included studies used thematic analysis to evaluate the data.…”

“…, 16 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 The explanation given for using this method was that some of the authors were English-speaking and the translation enabled them to access the data. 13 , 14 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 Authors mitigated any potential effects of translation on the quality of the analysis by involving bilingual researchers in the coding verification process, 14 retaining key words in Arabic, 36 , 37 or by having translators add notations to help ensure that the meaning of cultural idioms was not lost. 16 …”

Experiences of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Through the Perspective of United Arab Emirates Women: A Qualitative Study

“…In other words, the women of this study attributed the cause of their abortion to God's will. For this reason, religious beliefs can protect women against evil eyes during pregnancy and prevent abortion (32). A woman with the experience of abortion is often considered sinister and thus forbidden to approach young women lest she transfers her evil influence onto the other pregnant women (33).…”