WOMEN'S POSTNATAL EXPERIENCE FOLLOWING A MEDICALLY COMPLICATED PREGNANCY

Within the social science literature on reproduction, relatively little attention has been paid to the areas of major illness during pregnancy and postnatal physical health. In this paper I present the results of a qualitative study of the postnatal health experiences of 15 women who had suffered a serious illness during pregnancy, the onset of which either predated or developed during pregnancy. Recently delivered women with continuing health problems face additional difficulties at a time when they are recovering from the physical and psychological processes of birth and are adjusting to the care of the new baby or grieving a loss. A few women in this study had experienced health problems that were resolved at or soon after the birth. Those with continuing or chronic illness described attempts to regain normality that involved both restoring bodily health and reestablishing their control over symptoms of the illness. Professional help with this process was often reported to be limited.