Problematic integration in pregnancy and childbirth: contrasting approaches to uncertainty and desire in obstetric and midwifery care.

The experience of pregnancy is often accompanied by uncertainties with which mothers somehow have to cope. Uncertainty may be related to the health of the mother or baby, or how labor will be experienced, as well as longer-range issues, such as financial concerns and worries about being a good parent. Drawing on Babrow's (1992, 2007) PI (problematic integration) theory, this article explores the struggles that pregnant mothers face and the role that their practitioners play in these dilemmas. Particularly, this project examines obstetricians and midwives in an effort to discern how these providers differ in their confrontation of mothers' uncertainties.