Women's Decision-Making And Factors Affecting Their Choice Of ...

Most women offered coffee or tea, and in all cases the offer was accepted.
This was usually followed by small talk about the weather, and the woman's
health. Issues such as how far they were in their pregnancy, and how it had
progressed were raised before the actual interview started. In one case, the
woman offered coffee and then went on to talk about her recent house move, the
people that sold them their new house, and about their neighbours. She seemed to
want to talk about everything else except the subject of the study. Eventually she
was asked whether she wished for the interview to begin. She was a bit hesitant at
the beginning and wanted to change the subject again. The researcher explained
to her that she was not at all obliged to take part in the study, and that she could
change her mind about giving the interview if that was her wish.
The woman then started to talk, reservedly at first, and then became more
involved in what she was saying. It became apparent that she had been planning a
home birth, and just two days before the interview, she was informed that she
could not go ahead with her plan because her baby was too big. This happened
two weeks before her expected date of delivery. The equipment to assist at the
birth, which had already been delivered to her home, was taken away. The
woman was still very angry and disappointed and found it very difficult to discuss
anything to do with the birth. However, as the interview progressed she relaxed
into it.
Demographic data about the women were collected directly from their
obstetric records to avoid long interview sessions with them. All interviews were
tape recorded and later transcribed for analysis. After the interview, reflective
notes were written about how the interview had progressed and about the
impression given by the participant during the interview (Appendix 5). The
108