The need for improved emotional support: A pilot online survey of Australian women’s access to healthcare services and support at the time of miscarriage

ProblemWomen need improved emotional support from healthcare professionals following miscarriage.BackgroundSignificant psychological morbidity can result following miscarriage and may be exacerbated by poor support experiences. Women frequently report high levels of dissatisfaction with healthcare support at this time.AimThis study was developed to pilot a survey aimed at exploring women’s access to healthcare services and support at the time of miscarriage.MethodsWomen over 18 years, residing in Australia, who had experienced a miscarriage in the past two years completed a 29-item online survey.FindingsA total of 399 women completed the survey. Two key findings arose: 1) More than half of women (59%) were not offered any information about miscarriage or pregnancy loss support organisations or referral/access to counselling services at the time of miscarriage, despite almost all reporting they would have liked various forms of support from items listed 2) More than half (57%) did not receive follow up care, or emotional support at this time, beyond being asked how they were coping emotionally. Other findings showed 3) Women accessed various healthcare services at the time of miscarriage and 4) Women often saw a general practitioner at the time of miscarriage despite having a private obstetrician.ConclusionThere is clear mismatch between the support women want at the time of miscarriage and the care they receive from healthcare professionals. Despite considerable structural barriers, it seems likely there is scope within healthcare professionals’ usual practice for improved support care through simple measures such as increased acknowledgement, information provision and referral to existing support services.     

Early Pregnancy Assessment Services in Australia: What psychosocial support is available? A qualitative study

ProblemWomen commonly experience emotional distress following miscarriage but do not receive the support they need from healthcare providers.BackgroundMiscarriage can result in psychological morbidity; however, appropriate support at the time of a miscarriage can lead to better psychological outcomes. Early Pregnancy Assessment Services (EPASs) are dedicated outpatient services considered the “gold standard” for miscarriage care. Little is known about the psychosocial support EPASs provide in Australia.AimsThe aim of this study was to explore the provision of psychosocial support in Australian EPASs.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 purposively sampled key-informants from 13 EPASs. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed.FindingsConsiderable variation was found in how EPASs functioned and their provision of psychosocial support. Many services were co-located with antenatal services, run by doctors with limited experience and most did not offer any psychosocial training to staff specific to EPAS. Referrals for additional support were generally not offered for first trimester miscarriages, and follow-up typically focused on physical management rather than emotional wellbeing. All EPAS staff demonstrated a strong commitment to providing best possible care to women within their own clinical setting and acknowledged the need for improved psychosocial support.ConclusionThis study provides the first exploration of Australian EPASs’ provision of psychosocial support. It has shown that while health care professionals working in EPASs are dedicated to providing the best possible care to women within their clinical setting, psychosocial support is very limited and could be improved.     

论堕胎权的合理限制

生育权作为一项基本人权包含着堕胎权。堕胎权的确认是妇女运动的进步,有利于妇女从性别角色中解放出来。对堕胎权的适当限制可以促进堕胎权的发展,但是不适当限制也有可能加重或者侵犯妇女的合法权益。文章从堕胎权的概念出发,分析了中国有关地区地方性法规对堕胎权限制的不舍理性,提出适当的限制堕胎权与中国的计划生育政策一致,但是应当注意比例原则,侧重保护妇女的合法权益,并且应当综合运用多种手段。     

Running the Gauntlet: Women's Use of Emotion Management Techniques in the Abortion Experience

Women who have abortions are caught in the crossfire of a heated ideological battle. The prochoice contention is that most women feel relieved after terminating an unwanted pregnancy. The antiabortion camp asserts killing an unborn child psychologically scars the mother. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with forty women who have terminated a pregnancy, this study examines how the clashing emotion culture of abortion politics shapes women's feelings about abortion. Findings indicate that women use behavioral and cognitive techniques in an attempt to transform unpleasant physiological reactions, inappropriate expressive gestures, and problematic emotional labels. As they run the gauntlet, women also strategically dodge or deliberately approach hazardous situational cues (e.g., abortion debate rhetoric and demonstrators, pictures of fetal development and the ultrasound, and babies and pregnant women) to achieve a feeling state that is consistent with their ideology.     

我国青少年未婚人流问题的理论思考

为了加强对青少年未婚人口问题理论探讨，本文回顾了近年我国青少年未婚人流的相关研究，发现目前存在比例高、低龄化、重复人流比例高以及并发症高四大特征；从理论角度思考，认为发育年龄和初婚年龄间隔拉大、更为频繁的人口流动．更加开放婚前性行为态度以及生殖健康知识和服务渠道的缺乏是造成该现状的重要宏观因素；提出应该根据“性行为链条”的理论框架及时转变青少年生殖健康观念、加强对青少年生殖健康服务和改善相关服务模式．才能有助于改善现状。     

Mobilizing on Campus: Conservative Movements and Today’s College Students1

Social movement scholars have known for some time that students, and particularly college students, play an important role in modern social movements. Yet the full extent of conservative mobilizing, both today and in the past, is frequently overlooked. This article highlights the critical role college campuses have played in the rise of conservative movements in the United States over the last 40 years. In doing so, it develops a concept of transition points to help explain the mechanisms responsible for the longstanding finding that college students form an important core of many social movements. Transition points are marked by both changes in routines and changes in social network configuration. The utility of the transition point concept is explored through ethnographic and interview data from the American pro‐life movement.     

The Development of a Student-Run Ambulance

Abstract

Abortion decisions have a potentially meaningful effect on the lives of men. Previous research suggests that both men and women generally believe that men have the right to be involved in such decisions. However, very little research attention has been devoted to identifying individual difference correlates of discrepant levels of endorsement for male involvement in abortion decisions. The extent to which abortion attitudes (on a pro-choice to pro-life continuum), conceptualization of abortion as strictly a female issue, and interest in the issue operate as effective predictors of the appropriate level of male involvement in abortion decisions was examined in a sample of 1,387 college students. Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that 44% of the variance in male involvement scores was explained by the predictor variables.     

堕胎问题的立法进程及其相关的法律思考

堕胎问题一直是一个备受争议的问题。世界各国对这一问题的态度不一，有的国家制定了《反堕胎法》，禁止妇女堕胎；同时，又有一些国家认定堕胎合法化。了解世界主要国家对待堕胎问题的态度和立法状况，最大限度地了解其争议之所在，可以推进我国在这方面的立法进程。     

谈人工流产中的尊重原则

全面正确的理解人工流产中的尊重原则是生命伦理学的根本要求.在人工流产中,既要尊重母亲的生命权、健康权和在生育、人工流产中的自主权,又不能忽视母亲在生育、人工流产中对国家、社会、他人、胎儿的责任和义务;既要尊重胎儿的生命权,又要了解胎儿生命权的有限性;既要协调胎儿、母亲的权利,又要兼顾社会国家的利益.     

Changing Frameworks in Attitudes Toward Abortion

For more than two decades, legal abortion has been the subject of heated political debate and adversarial social movement activity; however, national polls have shown little change in aggregate levels of support for abortion. This analysis examines how the determinants of abortion attitudes have changed between 1977 and 1996, using data from the General Social Surveys. While in early time periods, whites were more approving of abortion than blacks, that pattern had reversed by the late 1980s. After controlling for other factors, older people are more accepting of abortion throughout the two decades, while gender is generally unrelated to abortion views. Catholic religion weakens slightly as a predictor of abortion attitudes, while religious fundamentalism and political liberalism increase in explanatory power. The associations between attitudinal correlates and abortion approval also change over this time period. Religiosity becomes a less powerful predictor of abortion attitudes, while respondents' attitude toward sexual freedom and belief in the sanctity of human life increase in their predictive power. Support for gender inequality remains a weak but stable predictor of abortion attitudes. This pattern of results suggests that the public is influenced more by the pro-life framework of viewing abortion than by the pro-choice perspective.