A phenomenological investigation into the experiences of termination of pregnancy

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to describe the experiences of females who have undergone a termination of pregnancy. A phenomenological study was employed, in which each participant used in the research was interviewed in a single session. The sample consisted of six women who had terminated a pregnancy before. The results were presented in the form of an integrative text, which accounted for all the individual variations of the experiences of termination. The ages of women ranged from 17 to 42. All participants regarded the situation of an unplanned pregnancy as stressful. Most of them viewed having a child as a threat to their education, career or relationship with family. Although all of the participants thought some part of the procedure was more stressful than they anticipated, they all found ways to cope with differing levels of stress. All participants view themselves as coping well with the stressful life event.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, 2005.
Keywords
Pregnancy termination, Unplanned pregnancy
Citation