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Abstract |
This paper outlines a phenomenological study carried out to explore the experience of nausea, vomiting and retching associated with pregnancy. These phenomena lack Nursing research and are debilitating symptoms which effect the quality of life for 50-75% of all pregnant women. Madjar ( 1991) indicates that the communication of such experiences can deepen our understanding of human life and coping. It is importance for Nurses to develop an understanding of lived experiences so that they can make more effective interventions. This study explores the essential humanness of life experiences as they are for those who live them. It involved collecting data from those experiencing the phenomena and analysing it. It focuses on the study of phenomena not as separate entities in themselves but as they are perceived as they are experienced. A 'purposeful sample' was required for this study. The aim was to include women who had direct knowledge of the phenomena of nausea, vomiting and retching associated with pregnancy. The study involved in depth interviewing of six women, the interviews were taped and independently transcribed, the transcripts were analysed to determine the meaning of the experience and to identify common themes. The experiences of the women are discussed in relation to what van Manen (1990) describes as four main life world existentials; the lived body, the lived other, lived space and lived time |
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