DistGrav

: Hjälpmedel för gravida kvinnor med en timme eller mer till förlossning

Abstract

During the past year, in particular, there has been a lot of talk in the media about the childbirth crisis, which is aimed at overcrowded hospitals, a shortage of midwives and maternity wards that risk closing. This of course affects the pregnant women about to give birth, despite this, there are few solutions that have been developed. Previous studies regarding pregnancy in the field of informatics have dealt with the transmission of knowledge, bridging language barriers and advice on, for example, diet. Current research in female reproduction mostly deals with fertility monitoring and how this affects the user. The present study conducted a case study and interviewed eight pregnant women to gather their thoughts, experiences and concerns regarding their distance to maternity care. All came from northern Sweden's hinterland and have over an hour to a maternity ward. In addition, two midwives from the same area participated to contribute their knowledge. Three themes were identified through the interviews (i) support and information how pregnant women choose to seek support and their distress (ii) contact with maternity ward how they feel about their care contacts and how distance affects their willingness to seek it. (iii) technical solutions desirable technical solutions the pregnant women and midwives want and how they feel about using it. In parallel and in collaboration with the qualitative work, a design process was carried out that answers the research question of what functions are needed, through a prototype of assistance to monitor contractions, blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation in the pregnant woman and the fetal heart sound. This in connection with video and chat contact with a midwife, all to facilitate the decision to go to the maternity ward or not.

Date of Award	2022-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Kerstin Ådahl (Supervisor) & Kari Rönkkö (Examiner)