In labor, what coping techniques do you anticipate using?

Hello , The submission was expected to be summarized, not just questions and answers. Please resubmit. From the syllabus: The expectation is that the interview will be summarized and there will be information in the summary related to information presented in the textbook, e.g., Sarah plans to breastfeed. Broderick & Blewitt (2014) state that breast feeding is important for…. Length of interview summaries should be 5 pages long.

Prenatal Interview

Charlotte Wilkins

PYCL0635

June 7, 2018

Prenatal Interview:

Childbearing History

Interviewer: Have you had any childbearing losses? For example, have you had an abortion, miscarriage, infertility, stillbirth, or children placed for adoption?

Interviewee: Well, ah. I had two abortions. My husband and I decided that abortion of the two babies would be our best option because we were not ready to have child then.

Interviewer: Can you tell me more about that?

Interviewee: The abortions took place over eight years ago when we were in college. Having children at that time would make completing our studies even more difficult. We decided that it was best to end the pregnancies.

Interviewer: What is the date, gender, name, and birth weight of your child?

Interviewee: I gave birth to our first born, Albert McCarty, four years ago on April 15, 2014. He was born by the expected due date and weighed 7 pounds. I was so happy to see his little face and felt really blessed to be able to have a healthy baby after aborting two previous babies. This was really a wonderful experience as mom.

Interviewer: I’m sure that you and your husband were so happy to finally be in a place in your lives where you were able to have a baby.

Interviewer: How did labor begin? How long did it last? How did you push? What coping techniques did you use?

Interviewee: Giving birth to the first child was a terrifying experience for me and my husband. My labor pains began in the middle of the day as I was completing my household chores. I kept feeling the contractions in my stomach. They got stronger and stronger. I had to sit down until I was able to reach the phone to call my husband to come take me to the hospital. My husband came to get me to take me to the emergency room where I was admitted having the baby. The labor pains lasted for 12 miserable hours. When the time was right for me to begin pushing, my husband helped to hold my legs back ad our son came after five strong pushes. I coped with the pain by using the breathing techniques that I learned in my labor and delivery classes. It was amazing!

Interviewer: Were there any complication?

Interviewee: We thank God that there were no complications at all.

Interviewer: What was the best thing about the experience? What element would you hope to avoid this time?

Interviewee: Seeing my baby alive was the best experience and I was especially happy when I heard him crying. We feel honored and blessed to have a healthy baby who I’m sure will bring us many years of joy!

Interviewer: How did you choose your doctor?

Interviewee: Choosing a doctor was no problem because I received a recommendation from a family friend. This is the same doctor who provides care for at least five of my friends.

II. Anticipated Birth

Interviewer: How is your pregnancy going? Is it what you expected?

Interviewee: The pregnancy is going great and I am now 7 months. I did expect to have complications because I have heard horror stories of women experiencing major health scares and complications with later pregnancies once they have aborted a previous pregnancy.

Interviewer: Are you feeling rested? Restless? Any interesting dreams?

Interviewee: This time I am relaxed and feeling well rested. I do however sometime dream that I have already given birth. Sometimes the baby is a boy and other times the baby is a girl. I’m sure that my subconscious self is remembering the two previous abortions and my dreams manifest as the babies in my dreams.

Interviewer: Have there been any problems with this pregnancy? If so, what?

Interviewee: No, I have not had any problem the pregnancy. Everything has been great.

Interviewer: Which prenatal tests, if any, have you had? Results?

Interviewee: I have had two prenatal tests. The first test was to find out if I was pregnant and the second test was to see if the fetus was developing properly and free of birth defects. All results came back normal.

Interviewer: What childbirth education have you taken?

Interviewee: I have taken labor and deliver classes to learn about what happens during a pregnant such as labor pains, signs of trouble, and the body changes that occur when pregnant ad after delivery. Secondly, I learned relaxation techniques that help with easing the fears of pregnancy.

Interviewer: Who have you chosen to be with you during this birth and what role will each person play?

Interviewee: My husband and my sister will be with me during this birth. They will serve as my support system. I’m also hiring a labor assistant to support us all. My mother will join us about a week after the baby is born so she can relieve my husband and sister. She has agreed to move in with us for three months to assist me with getting back on my feet.

Interviewer: Have you told your doctor that you are hiring a labor assistant?

Interviewee: My doctor is aware and is comfortable with the plan.

Interviewer: How do you imagine I can be most helpful to you and your partner?

Interviewee: I think you can help by continuing to support me ad provide me with positive words of encouragement to let me know that everything is going to be okay.

Interviewer: Imagine your ideal birth. What makes it ideal?

Interviewee: The ideal birth for me would be for me to be surrounded by my family and friends when the baby arrives home from the hospital. I want this baby to be welcomed with open arms and feel so secure in the love that the family members will give.

Interviewer: Have you completed your birth plan?

Interviewee: No. I plan to complete it by next month when I have 1 month remaining.

Interviewer: What are the 3 most vital elements of your birth plan. Please put these elements in order of importance. Tell me about your vital elements and then tell me about your partner’s vital elements?

Interviewee: My priority is the comforts of the birthing facility. My second priority is how I will manage pain. My last priority is the quality of the food that will be served. My partner’s priority is the type of pain medication I will receive. My second priority is the quality of the birthing facility. His last priority is the quality of the food that will be served.

Interviewer: What are your greatest fears about this birth?

Interviewee: My greatest fear is labor pains coming before the anticipated birth. My partner’s fear is that I won’t be able to handle the labor pains.

Interviewer: In the event of an unanticipated C-Section, what things would be most important to you?

Interviewee: It will be important if the operation would be done in a hospital in the presence of my loved ones. There is nothing that encourages me than being in the presence of my husband.

Interviewer: What are the most stressful aspects of your life? How do you counteract this stress?

Interviewee: The most stressful aspects of my life are the daily stress of my job. I counteract this by spending a lot of time with my family. Seeing family members laugh and have fun is enough to counteract the stress. When I am with my family, I feel relieved from the daily hardships.

Interviewer: What is your occupation? What is your partner’s occupations?

Interviewee: I am a professor at a university and my husband works in a bank.

Interviewer: Have you experienced any significant losses such as the death of a parent, sibling, divorce, or loss of birth family through adoption?

Interviewee: I lost my parents when I was teenager and I spent most of my early life with my grandparents. Other than that, I have not experienced any significant losses.

Interviewer: Who do you turn to for support?

Interviewee: I usually seek support from the closest relatives. Therefore, family is so important to me. They support me, and I support them.

Interviewer: Tell me about a time when you felt especially calm. What were the circumstances?

Interviewee: The time that I felt calm was when we bought our new house. Before we were living in an apartment; therefore, it was very difficult to save funds for a house and for the family use, but we achieved our goal.

Interviewer: Tell me about a time when you felt especially powerful. What were the circumstances?

Interviewee: A time when I felt powerful was during my graduation. I was honored by being recognized as one of the top students in my class. It was such a gratifying experience for me.

Interviewer: In painful situations, how do you seek comfort? Do you seek companionship, activity, quiet, turning inward, making noise, rhythmic movement, or distraction?

Interviewee: I find a person to talk to or especially my husband when he is around. When there is no body to talk to, I just find an activity that I enjoy occupying my time and mind. So, I guess you can say I seek companionship.

Interviewer: When frightened, how do you regain a sense of calmness? For example, do you engage in deep breathing, deliberate relaxation, reassurance from others, visualization, or information gathering?

Interviewee: I engage in deep breathing exercises. This really calms me.

Interviewer: In labor, what coping techniques do you anticipate using? For example, will you go walking, listen to music, listen to the nature sound machine, practice relaxation techniques, take a shower or bath, get a massage, begin rocking, make position changes, seek encouragement, moan, or use visualization?

Interviewee: I will go walking and listen to soothing music.

Interviewer: What provisions for photographing the birth have you made?

Interviewee: I have already posted that we are expecting a baby on Facebook. The announcement included my photos of me and my husband showing off my baby bump. We will post pictures of the baby’s photo after the birth.

III. Newborn

Interviewer: Do you know the gender of this baby? If so, how?

Interviewee: No. We are going to wait and be surprised. We’ve even told the doctor not to tell us the gender.

Interviewer: What do you plan to name this baby?

Interviewee: My husband will name our son Caleb if we have a boy. If we have a girl, I’ll name her Zoey.

Interviewer: In ideal circumstances, how would you like to welcome you baby? For example, would you like non-separation, immediate nursing, or hearing your voice first?

Interviewee: I would like to welcome my baby with immediate nursing.

Interviewer: I know that you mentioned that you planned to nurse so how long do you plan to nurse?

Interviewee: I plan to nurse for at least a year and a half.

Interviewer: If mother and baby need to be separated, who should remain with mom, who should remain with baby?

Interviewee: We are not planning any separation for now. I have expressed the need to be with my child. In case of emergency and we must be separated, I would like for my husband to remain with our baby and my sister to remain with me.

Interviewer: Do you plan to circumcise this child if it is male?

Interviewee: Yes. We will have our son circumcised as soon as possible. I’ve heard horror stories about what boys go through when their parents wait until their older before having them circumcised.

Interviewer: Do you have special concerns about your child?

Interviewee: Yes. I’m basically concerned about medical concerns that are not anticipated.

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Student question. Based on what you’ve learned, ask at least one more question; what else

would you like to know about this person’s life?

After you describe the interview, discuss your reaction (three paragraphs).

1. What did you learn? Did anything surprise you?

The interviewer had been an opportunity to understand what the mother was going through during her pregnancy. It was surprising to me that the mother wants to feel loved and extra important while she is pregnant. Also, it is highly important to the mothers that their husbands are present during childbirth.

2. How did you feel during the interview?

I was completely emphatic especially about the pains that mothers undergo when they are giving birth. I was able to relate to the fears, concerns, and joy of the mother.

3. What changes (if any) have occurred in your perception of the prenatal/first year? (What did you think before? What do you think now?)

Before, I knew that giving birth was a life changing process for the pregnant woman. The interview has been an opportunity to see how important self-care and emotional needs have a high impact on the mental well-being of the pregnant woman and even her husband.