Characteristics of the Sample
Of the seven who took part, two were first time mothers,
five had a family history of asthma, and two had previous
hay fever. For four mothers, their asthma worsened during
pregnancy whilst for three, their asthma improved. Three
interviews took place in the respiratory clinic and four at
home. The interviewee’s baby was present in six of the
interviews.
Table 1. Semi-structured interview schedule.
General Area Examples Might Lead to
Perceptions about having Asthma
Time since diagnosis?
Perceptions of severity?
Otherwise healthy?
How they perceived the diagnosis
Activities they might avoid
Self image?
Management activities and
attitudes
Clinic attendance?
Health professionals seen?
Medication use?
Special advice?
Advice from elsewhere, e.g. family, friends?
Value of regular monitoring
Medications in general and alternatives?
Compliance
Surrounding / informal knowledge
Pregnancy as an additional
condition
1st pregnancy?/ previous problems
Any change in asthma (either way)
Any particular concerns
Expectations
Own monitoring process
Directly addresses information gaps
Delivery experience
Where did you deliver?
Mode of delivery?
Post natal experience?
Support given during and after birth
Impact of significant experience,
Perceived impact of asthma on delivery experience.
Provision of info and practical support during intra and post-partum.
Aspects of child rearing
General plans
Breast feeding
Infant asthma
Previous advice
Information gaps
Contact with health professionals