Wenn ein Kind nicht lebensfähig ist

When women are confronted with the prenatal diagnosis of a fetal abnormality, they have to decide whether to terminate or continue that pregnancy. Studies show that most women decide to terminate the pregnancy . While studies exist in Germany about women continuing pregnancies after the diagnosis of a viable fetal impairment such as Down-Syndrom, little is known about women who decide to continue pregnancy after the prenatal diagnosis of a lethal condition. This study examines the experiences of women, who continue their pregnancy after the diagnosis of 'inviability of the child'. Furthermore this study aims to develop recommendations in order to improve the support and care provided by health professionals.The main result of the research is that women experience the diagnosis as a severe biographical disruption during the state of pregnancy, which requires a complex process of re-adjustment. The diagnosis and the resulting decision-making has to be understood as a dynamic part within this process of reorientation, not as the endpoint of this process.

Dr. Katharina Rost ist Gesundheitswissenschaftlerin und arbeitet als selbstständige Hebamme in Nürnberg.