Bearing the burden of spill-over effects: Living with a woman affected by symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse after vaginal birth - from a partner's perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (sPOP) can have a negative impact on a woman's health. While research exists about the impact of sPOP on women, little is known about the effect on their partners. Therefore, this study aimed to explore, from the partner's perspective, what it means to live with a woman with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse after vaginal birth. METHODS: A qualitative explorative design with a constructed grounded theory approach was taken to analyse the interviews of 13 partners who experienced living with a woman who had sPOP after vaginal birth. RESULTS: "The theory of bearing the burden of spill-over effects" was constructed based on a core category: "Facing a new restricted life", with related categories "Giving up valued activities"; "Struggling with added demands"; "Changing intimate behaviour" and "Redefining future family planning". The theory also contains factors constraining and enabling adjustment to the new reality. While the shortcomings of healthcare constrained the process of adjustment, getting competent treatment and the feeling of love for the family enabled it. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that women's sPOP had an apparently negative impact on partners' health behaviours, sexual health, relationship harmony, and psychological well-being. The partners indicated they were unprepared for post-birth adversities and distressed by the lack of treatment options. There is a need to develop prenatal information highlighting the potential risks of sPOP which may be accompanied by levator ani muscle injury, implement guidelines for the prevention and management of these conditions, and offer targeted support to partners if needed.

Classical Sociology Through the Lens of Gendered Experiences.

There is a body of literature problematizing the lack of women's accounts in what is called classical sociology. However, limited efforts have been made to place female and male theorists' writings in juxtaposition with each other in order to demonstrate how their writings and theories differ. The aim of this article is to encourage discussion of how early female and male sociological theorists' descriptions and interpretations on the development of modern society were shaped by their own gendered experiences. Further, the aim is to shed light on the consequences this might provide for the teaching and learning of classical sociology. The article contributes a comparative analysis on how five authors, three female and two male, described and interpreted the transition from traditional to modern society through their gendered experiences. Their various interpretations illustrate how experiences are situated and that there is no complete and objective knowledge. As a consequence, universities should pay careful attention to gender distribution in their syllabi. Rather than achieve equal numbers of female and male authors, this will ensure that students are able to explore and understand classical sociology through the lens of different gendered experiences during their studies.

Differentiations in Visibility-Male Advantages and Female Disadvantages in Gender-Segregated Programmes.

This article stresses the importance of understanding that women and men in gender-segregated programmes experience their gender minority positions very differently. It stems from an interest in the kind of interventions that academia should address in order to reduce gender segregation and provide women and men with the same educational opportunities and personal development. In relation to the obvious and continuing gender differences along a horizontal dimension, previous research seems to have had a limited impact in breaking gender stereotypes and promoting women and men to more atypical fields. The empirical data consists of 25 semi-structured, individual interviews from underrepresented students' gender-related experiences/thoughts about their programmes. By using the concepts of "visibility," "sense of belonging," and "negotiating otherness" to analyze how negotiation and belonging are part of students' everyday university lives this study's most important contributions are its findings regarding the differentiations in visibility. A continuum of visibility experiences is explored, from men who receive positive attention to women who are being considered as less knowledgeable. Our visibility scale indicates, as does previous research, that there are differences between how female and male students become visible, but the differences can also appear within both groups of students. This knowledge is crucial when designing interventions so as to provide positive study environments for both women and men. Also-in a broader perspective-it is important in order to recruit and ensure that gender minority students remain in the programs.