The mourning process of HIV-positive pregnant women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore bereavement and grief or a sense of loss in HIV-positive women attending antenatal clinics. An exploratory, descriptive and qualitative research design was used. Purposive sampling was applied with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were collected during 2004. Tesch's eight-step procedure was applied in the analysis of the data. Transcription of taped interviews was followed by reading the transcripts while comparing them with the original audio-tapes. The underlying meanings of the details were identified and described. The Kübler-Ross (1969 in Bolden) framework proved useful for contextualising the study's findings. The findings indicated that the women experienced and expressed sadness. All bereavement, grief, and / or a sense of loss, were painful processes experienced by pregnant women who learnt that they were HIV positive. Over and above offering the standard nursing care, midwives should implement a number of steps to support HIV-positive pregnant women and respond to their unique needs. This study is helpful to midwives caring for HIV-positive pregnant women, who have specific needs arising from the bereavement and grief, or sense of loss, experienced on learning about their HIV-positive status.