Women's account of emergency cesarean section

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore Hong Kong Chinese women's experiences of emergency cesarean section. Little is known about Hong Kong Chinese womenis experience of childbirth, in particular, emergency cesarean section. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of women (n=7) who underwent emergency cesarean section in a teaching hospital in Hong Kong. The study revealed how the social interaction between the women and health professionals is constrained by the relative power of the participants and the material features of the context. Negative emotions that were evoked by feelings of powerlessness and sustained by inadequate and inappropriate communication comprised the core experiences of women who underw