The role and attributes of social networks in the provision of support to women after stillbirth: experiences from Uganda
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC women's health
Abstract
the grieving family. Maternal healthcare-seeking behaviors are socially reinforced rendering a social network approach
vital in understanding support dynamics which when utilized can improve community response to mothers experiencing
stillbirth. However, the form and direction of social support for women when in need is not clear. The study
explored the role and attributes of women’s social networks in the provision of support to mothers who have experienced
a stillbirth in Uganda.
Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study design adopting a social network approach was conducted. Data
collection following established procedures was conducted on a convenient sample of 17 mothers who had experienced
a stillbirth six months before the study. Frequencies and bivariate analysis were conducted to determine the
factors influencing the provision of social support from 293 network members elicited during the alter generation.
We then performed a Poisson regression on each of the social support forms and the explanatory variables. Network
structure variables were calculated using UCINET version 6 while Netdraw facilitated the visualization of networks.
Results: Overall, social support was available from all network relations mentioned by the respondents. No major
variations were observed between the two time periods during pregnancy and following a stillbirth. The most common
support received was in form of intangible support such as emotional and information support, mainly from
females who were married and from the naturally occurring networks such as family and friends. We also observed
that social support followed patterns of network relational characteristics including trust, frequency of contact and
alters counted on for support more likely to provide the same.
Conclusions: A great potential for social support exists within women’s social networks to help address stillbirth risk
factors during pregnancy and cope after experiencing the same. Alter characteristics like being female, married, and
from naturally occurring networks together with relational characteristics such as trust, frequency of contact, and
count on alter for support were predictors of eventual social support. Interventions aiming at addressing stillbirth risks
at the community level ought to harness these network characteristics for benefits to the mothers
Description
Keywords
Stillbirth, Social support, Social network
Citation
Ssegujja, E., Mulumba, Y., Guttmacher, S., & Andipatin, M. (2021). The role and attributes of social networks in the provision of support to women after stillbirth: experiences from Uganda. BMC women's health, 21(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01498-9