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This qualitative study examines women's experiences with risk information exchange during their pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 women (aged 25–38) from September 2018 to February 2019. A non-random purposive sample of women who had given birth in the past year was invited to participate in the study. Women were invited by reaching out to personal contacts as well as through sending out a bulk institutional email, posting on mothers' Facebook groups' pages, and by giving out flyers to OB/mid-wife offices. The women represent an educated sample, and nearly half of the participants reported experiencing complications. Thematic analysis was conducted, with researchers individually engaging in open coding, and then collectively engaging in selective coding across multiple analysis sessions. Thematic analysis showed that all the women had different information preferences. Women who had a prior history of pregnancy risk reported engaging in active information seeking. All of the women in this study felt that information was withheld from them, with the exception of information about C-sections, birth plans, and genetic testing. Some women also reported that information was withheld from them when complications occurred during the pregnancy. Lastly, the data illustrate a need for verifying underlying emotions during information exchange as noted by all women. Women in this study reported varying preferences for information exchange. The women reported unmet information needs. The women highlight the need for providers to attend to emotions during information exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's family planning policy has historically silenced the voices of women, especially unwed single mothers at the expense of their reproductive health and overall wellbeing. Further, reproductive decisions in China are closely intertwined with marriage decisions and intergenerational dynamics, highlighting the relevance of gender in women's reproductive health experiences. Chinese unwed single mothers are in particular penalized for violating the gendered social norms supported by the national reproductive policies. Drawing on previous work that calls on the need to explore gender system and its influence on health, this manuscript explores the ways in which gender norms are played out for the unwed single mothers within romantic and intergenerational relations, with impacts on their reproductive health and decision‐making. The findings show that reproductive decisions are interwoven with the fulfilment of other gendered identities, such as daughter, daughter‐in‐law and wife. Although the decision to go through unwed motherhood is reflective of their agency, the tie between childbirth and marriage does not allow the women to entirely break free from the social system. The findings also highlight the importance of considering the role of gender system that is played out within social relations, which in turn impacts the health of the women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake in Singapore is low among young women. Low uptake has been found to be linked to low awareness. Thus, this study aimed to understand active and passive vaccine information-seeking behavior. Furthermore, guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study examined young women’s (aged 21-26 years) processing of information they acquired in their decision to get vaccinated. ELM postulates that information processing could be through the central (i.e., logic-based) or peripheral (i.e., heuristic-based) route. Twenty-six in-depth interviews were conducted from January to March 2016. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Two meta-themes—information acquisition and vaccination decision—revealed the heuristic-based information processing was employed. These young women acquired information passively within their social network and actively in healthcare settings. However, they used heuristic cues, such as closeness and trust, to process the information. Similarly, vaccination decisions revealed that women relied on heuristic cues, such as sense of belonging and validation among peers and source credibility and likability in medical settings, in their decision to get vaccinated. The findings of this study highlight that intervention efforts should focus on strengthening social support among personal networks to increase the uptake of the vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]