Objective: Carrying death instead of life is beyond understanding and a huge psychological challenge for apregnant mother. The aim of this study was to investigate the mothers’ experiences of the time from thediagnosis of the death of their unborn baby until induction of labour.
Method: In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 mothers whose babieshad died prior to birth. The interviews were then analysed using content analysis.
Results: The overall theme that emerged from the mothers’ experiences is understood as ‘‘waiting in noman’s-land’’, describing the feeling of being set aside from normality and put into an area which is unrecognized. Four categories were established: ‘involuntary waiting’ describes the sense of being left withoutinformation about what is to come; ‘handling the unimaginable’ concerns the confusing state of findingoneself in the worst-case scenario and yet having to deal with the birth; ‘broken expectations’ is aboutthe loss not only of the baby but also of future family life; and ‘courage to face life’ describes the determinationto go on and face reality.
Conclusions: The mother’s experiences during the time after the information of their baby’s death in uterountil the induction of labour can be understood as a sense of being in no-man’s-land, waiting withoutknowing for what or for how long.