Development of the mother–child relationship following pre‐eclampsia

Mothers' experiences of having a premature infant due to pre‐eclampsia

“…Even the mothers who were well informed felt unprepared when the decision of birth was done. Studies concerning women's experience of pre‐eclampsia in that lack of information were a problem . These studies are mostly from contexts that are very different from the one of this study.…”

“…Besides, the mothers mourned that the plans they had made while anticipating giving birth to a full‐term infant could not be fulfilled. Women suffering from pre‐eclampsia experienced the condition as being so serious it caused them to recognise the seriousness of the illness and death as a possibility for both for themselves and their infants . The life‐threatening illness influenced the mothers mentally, as well as physical.…”

“…Former studies have found that experiences of preeclampsia may elicit emotions such as fear, fear of death and guilt (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Mothers in these studies acknowledged that the outcome could be fatal both for themselves and their infants (10).…”

“…Women who had to deliver before term often felt unprepared to become mothers. They grieved their unfulfilled dreams and plans .…”

“…After a while, the women changed their focus from caring for themselves to caring for their infants . Lacking or deficient information about their own or their infants' health was a major problem for them .…”