What it's like for pregnant women to be hospitalized with high blood pressure

For a pregnant woman to be rushed suddenly to the hospital with high blood pressure (i.e. preeclampsia) can be terrifying - both she and her unborn child could be at serious risk. To help hospitals plan procedures for making the experience as comforting and supportive as possible, health psychologist Julie Barlow and her colleagues interviewed twelve pregnant women about their experience of being hospitalized with high blood pressure. The interviews were held within three days of the woman's hospital admission.

Assessment of the women's comments revealed four key elements: (1) They were searching for meaning in what happened to them especially if they had no symptoms of preeclampsia (2) They searched for possible causes of preeclampsia (3) They were frustrated with conflicting information from clinical staff (4) Their sense of well-being was altered by perceived "social factors" like spousal support and seeing that other women with preeclampsia were able to have a normal delivery.

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