'There was no other way things could have been.' Greenlandic women's experiences of referral and transfer during pregnancy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that referral practices along with midwifery care are a means of heightening the quality of perinatal care and lessening perinatal mortality and morbidity. In 2002, in response to high perinatal mortality and morbidity, a referral system was instituted nationally in Greenland, transferring all at-risk pregnancies to its national referral hospital. Little or no current research has focused on evaluation of the perinatal referral system or on the thoughts, beliefs, opinions and challenges faced by women and Greenlandic families themselves. The aim of this paper is to document how women referred to Nuuk because of at-risk pregnancies narratively constructed self-understanding and defined meaning during their period of separation from family and community; and how they dealt with the challenges they were presented with. Interviews were conducted with women upon their arrival at the national referral hospital and during fieldwork over a one-year period. Narrative framework was used for analysis. Coping theory and narrative theories were the theoretical base for structuring the narratives. Through their narratives, women presented their identities as mothers, community members and caretakers. Acceptance of referral was described as a means of protecting their unborn child and was where women found an inner source of strength to deal with their own anger, joy, anxiety and loneliness. The ability to accept referral was directly connected to their family and community and the support they found therein.