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This paper seeks to explore the pregnancy experiences of amputee women. Relatively little is known about pregnancy for amputees, but the wider literature on disability and pregnancy shows that the disabled pregnant body is often viewed as 'high risk'. The majority of amputations (90%) involve lower limb amputations; whilst our analytical interest was not limited to lower limb amputations, the sources we explored reflected the prevalence of lower limb amputees. Using online blogs and first-person accounts from 6 different sources (3 authors of blogs, 2 authors of websites and 1 author of an information page on a general amputation website), we thematically analyse amputee women's own narratives around their experiences of pregnancy Four key themes were identified, which we describe as: The lack of information for the pregnant amputee; Managing risks; The embodied experience of suffering; and 'It's all worth it in the end'. Women amputees faced trade-offs between risks to self and the unborn child and reported physical discomforts due to pregnancy-related bodily changes impacting their prosthesis or residual limb. The challenges of pregnancy as an amputee were, however, all seen to be outweighed by the safe arrival of a healthy baby. The lack of information on pregnancy for amputees may affect women's resilience to the adaptation challenges they face. Research should further explore the experiences of amputee mothers to ensure adequate information is available to them and their caring professionals, and that the needs of women with more challenging experiences are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergoing an amputation is a life-altering experience that can involve a protracted and intensive period of care from a range of healthcare professionals. Amputation care within the NHS has historically been criticised. Here we seek to understand how patients are experiencing care by exploring their stories and identifying features of both high- and low-quality care. We analysed patient stories posted on the patient feedback site Care Opinion during the period 2018–2020 to examine how amputee patients (and their families) experience NHS care. Using thematic analysis, we identified four key themes. We found that patients' stories of undergoing an amputation as posted on Care Opinion give overwhelmingly positive feedback on their experiences. Patients report feeling well-supported by empathetic staff, and that the outcomes, in terms of quality of life and restoration of mobility, are beneficial. Time was a common feature within the posts we examined and negative experiences of care often related to untimeliness in a variety of ways. Care Opinion provides a useful and accessible resource for understanding how patients experience amputation care; analysis of stories posted there provides preliminary ideas of the features of "good care" from a patient-centred perspective. Patients undergoing amputations view professionalism of staff as important for good care. Timeliness is important to patients in seeing care in positive terms, ensuring patients are supported in their care during and after amputation in a timely manner is therefore important for achieving good rehabilitation care. Rehabilitation and related services supporting patients who have undergone amputations could usefully patient feedback sites as a means for further understanding the experiences of their patients and for improving services where necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disposal of limbs remains absent from our understandings of amputation, with 'estranged limbs' occupying a liminal position. Despite acceptance that the appropriate disposal of human tissue matters on moral, ethical and legal grounds, limbs and their disposal is estranged from these discourses, mirroring the experience of the limbs themselves. This article then examines this absence around disposal, considering both the options which exist for the disposal of limbs after amputation, as well as why disposal itself remains sidelined from our broader understandings of the body. Practices for disposal that encompass both traditional clinical approaches and more unusual patient choices will be discussed – through the discussion of these as potential 'disposalscapes'. Utilising concepts from the work of Crawford, Shildrick and Steinberg and Slatman and Widdershoven, the potential importance of the disposal of limbs to patients and the role of disposalscapes within this are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of infertility on the emotional, social and relational aspects of men's lives is now more widely understood. Yet the impact of infertility on men's working lives and financial status remains largely overlooked. Drawing on a qualitative questionnaire study into men's experiences of infertility (n = 41), this article examines how work and finances are managed and negotiated during infertility, including treatment cycles. Three key themes were identified from our thematic analysis: managing infertility in the workplace; compromised job performance, (in)security and progression; the financial burden of infertility, suggesting that infertility can have significant implications for men's working lives, including their identities as productive workers. The impact had a gendered dimension, with threats to masculine‐relevant breadwinner roles and career ambitions. Awareness and management of infertility as a chronic health condition could be a useful way for employers to support disclosure of infertility and to allow men to navigate infertility and their working lives and identities in less stress‐inducing ways. This article contributes to our growing understanding of the stigma men experience in relation to infertility and how such stigma may intersect with masculinity in general and breadwinning in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]