Experiences of Pregnancy and Childbirth in Women after Liver Transplantation

Hea Seon Ha; Kyung-Choon Lim; Jung Ja Hong; In Ok Kim; Mi Kyeong Jeon; Jae Sim Jeong; Soon Haeng Lee; Haeng Mi Son; Myungsun Yi; Sung Gyu Lee

doi:10.7475/kjan.2012.24.6.690

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Ha, Lim, Hong, Kim, Jeon, Jeong, Lee, Son, Yi, and Lee: Experiences of Pregnancy and Childbirth in Women after Liver Transplantation

Original Article

Korean Journal of Adult Nursing 2013; 25(6): 690-700.

Published online: 31 December 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7475/kjan.2012.24.6.690

Experiences of Pregnancy and Childbirth in Women after Liver Transplantation

Hea Seon Ha¹, Kyung-Choon Lim², Jung Ja Hong¹, In Ok Kim¹, Mi Kyeong Jeon¹, Jae Sim Jeong³, Soon Haeng Lee⁴, Haeng Mi Son⁵, Myungsun Yi⁶, Sung Gyu Lee⁷

¹Organ Transplantation Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

²College of Nursing, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, Korea.

³Department of Clinical Nursing, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea.

⁴Department of Nursing, Asan Medecal Center, Seoul, Korea.

⁵Department of Nursing, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea.

⁶College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

⁷Division of Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Lim, Kyung-Choon. College of Nursing, Sungshin Women's University, 55 Dobong-ro, 76 ga-gil, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul 142-732, Korea. Tel: +82-2-920-7729, Fax: +82-2-920-2092, kclim@sungshin.ac.kr

Received 22 August 2013 Revised 9 December 2013 Accepted 13 December 2013

Abstract

Purpose

Liver transplantation (LT) is the best treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease and most patients with LT return to their normal life. However, pregnancy and childbirth for women with LT are less common, mainly because it is considered to be dangerous for their health. The purpose of this study was to describe how Korean women after LT experience their pregnancy and childbirth.

Methods

This study was designed to explore the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth of women with LT. Data were collected by individual in-depth interviews with four women who were pregnant and gave birth following LT in 2009. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

Four themes emerged as a result of analysis: recovery of lost feminity and marriage; fulfilling roles through pregnancy; life-risking pregnancy; and perfect family achieved by childbirth. These themes describe in detail about challenges and concerns the women with LT faced for their pregnancy and childbirth as well as many emotionally touching experiences.

Conclusion

The results of this study would support health professionals to be better prepared to help women with LT for pregnancy and childbirth by providing in-depth and insightful information.

Keywords: Liver transplantation, Pregnancy, Parturition, Life experience, Qualitative research

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Characteristics of the Participants (N=4)

LT=liver transplantation, LC=liver cirrhosis, HBV=hepatitis B virus, NFSD=normal full-term spontaneous delivery, NFVED=normal full-term vacuum extraction delivery, C/S=cesarean section, NICU=neonatal intensive care unit

Table 2

Themes and Subthemes Derived From the Experiences of Pregnancy and Childbirth of Women with Liver Transplantation

Notes

This work was supported by the Korean Association for Qualitative Research.

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