‘Every Woman Wants to Know What Came out of Her Body’: Grief Experiences of Women After Stillbirth in Nigeria

Stillbirth commonly affects women in Nigeria, but their experiences of grief following stillbirth is under explored. This study aimed to describe Nigerian women’s experiences of grief after stillbirth. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 women in Nigeria who experienced stillbirth. The results from the thematic analysis suggest that mothers had an unmet need to see their stillborn baby, and they experienced communication challenges such as being blindsided/misled about the baby during their interactions with health personnel. The participants experienced emotional and psychological reactions to grief that manifested in the form of emotional pain, sadness, blame and shock, but having a sense of gratitude helped them cope. The findings of this study highlight gaps in bereavement care and suggest the need for basic bereavement training for health personnel.

The Birth Plan Experience—A Pilot Qualitative Study in Southern Spain

Background: Healthcare systems advocate for quality care and humanized relations in routine birth care, and have therefore created the Birth Plan, a document available to pregnant women to state their preferences in relation to the birth process. Methods: This qualitative research with a phenomenological design was carried out to record the experiences of women who presented a Birth Plan. Sample selection was carried out using non-probabilistic, intentional and convenience sampling, selecting seven participants who were willing to participate and share their experiences. Results: After analyzing the content of the interviews, four categories emerged: “respecting the woman’s wishes: humanizing the birth process”, “information and primary Care”, “expectations regarding the care received” and “results of using the birth plan”, with their corresponding subcategories. Conclusion: Women consider it beneficial to present a Birth Plan, because it informs them about the process and gives them the opportunity to have a better experience, which takes into account their preferences for making the delivery less instrumental. In addition, they state the importance of having trained professionals involved, and call for more attention to be paid to the birth process in general.

Examining Microagression Experiences of Women: The Case of İzmir

Microagressions are experienced almost in all social interactions. However most of the time they are not noticed. One of the dimensions that microagressions are experienced is gender dimension. Therefore, in the present study the microagresssions experienced by women living in İzmir, Turkey was examined. Ten women participated to the study. The data was collected by interviews and analysized by content analysis. According to the results, women in İzmir have difficulties in terms of living as a woman. It was also found that women experience almost all type of microagressions mentioned in literature about gender. How women experience the microagression process was also examined in detail and the findings were discussed under the light of literature.

Leaning On Our Academic Shields of Gendered Support

Intersectionality reminds us that women of color face a particular kind of marginalization due to both gendered and racial oppression and underrepresentation. As such, they are more often “presumed incompetent” and may not feel as innately supported in social and professional structures as their white male and female counterparts. Additionally, the silencing effect of being one of very few women of color in academic departments puts us at risk for further marginalization, requiring that we engage in significant invisible labor that is neither recognized nor compensated. Grounded on our intersectionalities, we discuss our respective trajectories within our own fields and research, beginning with research that emphatically perpetuates the cycle of gender inequity in the academy. The discussion is then supported by analyzing the theoretical research on the salience of race, gender, and other axes of identity for the experiences of women of color. As authors, we present these narratives in an attempt to engage with ways of reflexivity that are, especially for women of color in academia, not usually discussed.

Gender Inequality and Societal Oppression of Women in Pakistan

Gender inequality and oppression are common in most patriarchal societies. Pakistan, a developing country of the Global South, has been wrangling with gender discrimination and violence against women since its inception in 1947. Globally, Pakistan is ranked third from the bottom (151 out of 153) on the Gender Equality Index. While patriarchal norms can have severe consequences for women's rights, it is important to look at the different ways in which patriarchy can manifest across socioeconomic levels. This chapter discusses the experiences of women in the lower, middle, and upper classes of Pakistani society. Thematic analysis of interview data reveals an overlap of forms of oppression and abuse, including the pervasiveness of masculine hegemony, workplace harassment, and in-law interference after marriage, as well as other challenges unique to each social class. The importance of education for women and girls is highlighted, while acknowledging that education alone, without family and societal suppor, may not be enough to break the shackles of the patriarchy for Pakistani women.

The Crisis Management Experiences of Female Media Leaders During The Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic entered Indonesia in February 2020, one month later most of the institutions changed their work policies. Business processes have also changed. Leaders at all levels are tested to be adaptive to unpredictable conditions, including the media business which is also affected by the effects of the pandemic. The leaders of female countries have shown good performance, as evidenced by the number of countries they lead that have succeeded in reducing the number of Covid-19 transmissions. Women leaders are considered to be more responsive and quick. Even so, how the experiences of women leaders at other leadership levels have not been well covered in any media. So this study will try to understand the experiences of female media leaders during the pandemic in 2020 as well as the initial steps for crisis management. This study uses a critical paradigm with a descriptive approach. The theory used is Standpoint Theory developed by Sandra Harding and Julia T. Wood and Crisis Management. This theory seeks to understand the world through women's eyes. The method used is critical phenomenology. The results showed that women as media leaders act quickly, utilize technology, and adapt business processes. Apart from that, it puts forward four crisis management steps in its implementation.

Attempts to Purchase Misoprostol Online in Indonesia: A Mystery Client Study Design

Introduction: Abortion is highly restricted in Indonesia; self-administered misoprostol can safely induce an abortion. Pharmacies, a common place to purchase misoprostol off-label in other parts of the world, are monitored in Indonesia so that they cannot function outside the law. Misoprostol is for sale online through in-country distributors. Such procurement offers a level of safety and anonymity to the buyer and seller. So as to understand online acquisition of misoprostol, we created a protocol to capture the most visible universe and of sellers, how they engaged with clients, and what women’s experiences were likely to be attempting to buy misoprostol from them. Methods and analysis: We carried out a mystery client methodology to replicate the experiences of women procuring misoprostol online. Our study consisted of five sections: (1) identify the universe of online sellers using the most common search terms, drawn from multiple platforms to capture diversity in interactions as well as products sold (2) remove sellers advertising on more than one site as determined by their telephone numbers (3) draw a roughly probability proportional to size sample (4) contact sellers as mystery clients through text/chat, depending on the platform and engage with them using one profile (marital status, age, and number of children) and (5) purchase drugs offered by the seller. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical considerations include that by purchasing abortion medications from these online sellers, its possible that we made it harder for women seeking to buy drugs from online sellers. Our engagement with these online sellers may have resulted in some of them feeling under scrutiny and possibly pausing their sales. Dissemination plans include depositing a preprint of the paper, sharing the protocol with other study teams who are interested in replicating the methodology in other locations, and sharing our data collection tools on SurveyCTO.

“Now I can see”: creative women fight against machismo in Chilean advertising

Purpose This study aims to explore sexist codes in the creative departments of Chilean advertising agencies, where women represent only 4.7% of all creatives. Design/methodology/approach This study provides new insights into the experiences of women in advertising through 18 in-depth interviews with Chilean creative women. Findings The results show that gender discrimination begins in universities, where male professors are often the same people who hire creative talent into the advertising agencies and prefer men, which continues throughout women’s careers. Originality/value While there are numerous studies of advertising creative women in North American and European agencies, there are few on creative women in South American and virtually none on creative women in Chilean agencies.