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Abstract (Chapter One) The Prenatal Communication Comfort Primigravidas and Multigravidas Joyce Beaudry Davidson 1992 Introduction “Did you plan to get pregnant or was this an accident?”; You shouldn’t drink that, it’s bad for the baby”; “No little mommy sit down, I’ll get it for you”; “I have to say hi to the baby” (while patting the abdomen). These kinds of communications are common occurrences in the life of a pregnant woman. Many pregnant women report differences in the way they are treated by friends, family and strangers. Popular literature has recently begun to address the type of communication uniquely experienced by pregnant women (Andrews, 1990; Kaplan, 1989; Stone, 1988; Umlas, 1986). Much of this literature reported that pregnant women experience varying amounts of discomfort with the communication that focuses on the pregnancy, particularly when it is unsolicited. Andrews (1990) asks: “what is it about the sight of a pregnant woman that causes otherwise tactful people to throw discretion out the window and ask the most intimate questions?” Women are attempting to understand altered communication they experience while pregnant, and nurses are concerned with communication issues that cause patients discomfort. Traditionally nursing has focused on the needs or the primigravida. The needs of the multigravida have often been overlooked (Mercer, 1979). Unique experiences of the multigravid versus the primigravid woman have been recently gaining attention (Affonso, Mayberry, and Sheptak, 1988; Tulman & Fawcett, 1990).
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