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TL;DR
The synthesis identified four main themes: emotional support, instrumental support, spiritual support, and the role of the natal home.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 4 authors, 2 centres
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The synthesis identified four main themes: emotional support, instrumental support, spiritual support, and the role of the natal home.
A qualitative systematic review was conducted to synthesize women's experiences of social support during pregnancy. Using thematic synthesis, the researchers developed four main themes: 'a variety of emotional support', 'tangible and intangible instrumental support', 'traditional rituals and spiritual support', and 'the all-encompassing natal home'. The review found that women received and valued emotional support from diverse social networks, but also experienced dissatisfaction with some support forms. The role of spirituality was mixed, sometimes reducing stress and other times increasing it. The 'natal home' theme emerged primarily from studies in collectivist cultures. A key limitation noted is that most included studies did not consider the impact of cross-cultural factors on women's perceptions of support.