Miscarriage and Still Birth
Full Title : Miscarriage and Still Birth: Bruneian Women Pregnancy Loss Experiences, Coping Strategies and Supporting Role of Health Care Professionals
Status : Competitive Research Grant (CRG)
Amount : BND 13,925
Start Date : 2017
Completion Date : 2022
Principal Investigators : Siti Mazidah Hj Mohamad, and Khadizah Haji Abdul Mumin (Institute of Health Science, UBD)
Brief Outline
This research focuses on Bruneian women with child loss experiences (miscarriage or still birth) and the support offered by their family, friends, and nurses/midwives during/after their pregnancy termination process. It is operationally divided into two parts. Part one focuses on this group of women’s experiences of child loss in different stages of pregnancy. Part two considers the experiences of the health care professionals in providing support to this group of women. Health care professionals are part of these women’s lives as they are at the front line of the provision of care and support in the forms of medical and healthcare intervention. This research is expected to provide a deeper comprehension of Bruneian socio-cultural and religious contexts covering women’s child loss experiences. We also expect to get baseline data on provision of care for this group of women by health care professionals to assist in improving the quality of services offered by them.
Brief Objectives
Part 1 – Bruneian women’s child loss experiences
- To explore the meaning of pregnancy loss to a woman in Brunei;
- To understand the underpinning rationale behind Bruneian women’s unwillingness or willingness in sharing their pregnancy during the first twelve weeks (first trimester) of the term; and
- To unpack the underlying socio-cultural and religious context associated with pregnancy loss.
Part 2 – Health Care Professionals provision of care and support
- To investigate the support received by women who experienced pregnancy loss from their health care providers;
- To explore current practices of pregnancy loss support for women who experienced pregnancy loss; and
- To analyse the challenges of providing health care support for women with pregnancy loss experience.
Significance of the research
This research is anticipated to bring substantial benefits to the community, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Ministry of Health and to the overall nation’s development through academic, community and institutional development. Developing a knowledge base on this particular issue in the context of Brunei Darussalam will have a significant impact on improving healthcare practice in Brunei.
Community Relevance:
This research provides deeper understanding of Bruneian women’s social maternal health within the area of pregnancy termination and child loss though miscarriage and still birth. It has been observed by the researchers in this project (two of them are within the obstetric and maternity specialties) that provision of care by midwives at local government hospitals is still an area needing emotional support. This research is envisioned to help improve the support to be offered to women experiencing pregnancy loss, improve their overall care experiences during and after the pregnancy loss process, and improve relationships between these women and the health care personnel.
Institutional Relevance:
This research has the potential to contribute to the drafting of best practices for provision of care for women during and after pregnancy loss. We envision this research to be a kick start for future social research on maternal health in Brunei Darussalam. Also, through the models of bereavement of this population of study, we anticipate to develop intervention and strategies to support bereaved women in the forms of clinic support group, online support to name a few. These intervention and strategies will be part of Ministry of Health Care Package.