Medical Research Center, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Department of Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Education City, P.O. Box 24144, Doha, Qatar.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2019 Jun 26;19(1):215. doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2354-z.
Following a miscarriage many women report feeling guilty and culpable for what has happened particularly when aspects of societal blame and stigma are involved. This research investigated the impact of cultural context on the experience of miscarriage. In particular, it focused on how elements of stigma and blame are linked to notions of miscarriage etiology and risk among Qatari women.
The research used an ethnographic approach. The data was collected over 18 months of fieldwork in Qatar, using semi-structured face to face interviews, and participant observation. A purposive sample of 40 women (primary participants) who had recently miscarried, participated in the study. Potential subjects were initially identified in the Women's Hospital and were consented, and then interviewed in Arabic either in the hospital or at their preferred location. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Additional key interviews were performed with 20 secondary participants related to the miscarriage cohort including family members and husbands. Inductive thematic analysis of content was performed manually to extract themes.
Two main themes emerged from the material looking specifically at miscarriage aftermaths: rhetorics of blame, self-blame and feelings of guilt; and miscarriage attitudes. Overall society is sympathetic and miscarriage is seen as normal and not particularly worrying, but understood to be upsetting to women. However, findings suggest there is some ambivalence around blame, culpability and stigma applied to miscarriage; some participants perceived miscarriage as a relatively normal and common event, whereas, others felt that miscarriage is resounding stigma and shame.
Miscarriage aftermaths are embedded in social, cultural and religious frameworks in relation to notions of risk and causation. Attention should be paid to ensure women and those around them are given appropriate and robust information about miscarriage causation to deflect discourses of blame that may be employed and reduce harm to women who suffer miscarriage.
许多女性在流产后会感到内疚和自责，尤其是当涉及到社会指责和耻辱时。本研究调查了文化背景对流产经历的影响。特别是，它侧重于耻辱和指责的要素如何与卡塔尔女性流产病因和风险的概念联系起来。
该研究采用了民族志方法。数据是在卡塔尔进行了 18 个月的实地工作收集的，使用了半结构化的面对面访谈和参与式观察。有 40 名（主要参与者）最近流产的女性参与了这项研究。最初在妇女医院确定潜在的研究对象，并征得同意，然后用阿拉伯语在医院或她们喜欢的地方对她们进行访谈。访谈进行了录音、转录并翻译成英语。还对与流产队列相关的 20 名次要参与者（包括家属和丈夫）进行了额外的关键访谈。采用手动内容归纳主题分析方法提取主题。
从材料中特别关注流产后果的两个主要主题是：指责、自责和内疚的言论；以及对流产的态度。整个社会是同情的，流产被视为正常的，并不特别令人担忧，但被认为对女性来说是令人不安的。然而，研究结果表明，对流产的指责、罪责和耻辱感存在一定的矛盾；一些参与者认为流产是相对正常和常见的事件，而另一些人则认为流产是令人震惊的耻辱。
流产后果与风险和病因的社会、文化和宗教框架有关。应注意确保妇女及其周围的人获得有关流产病因的适当和有力的信息，以抵制可能使用的指责言论，减少遭受流产的妇女所受的伤害。
