Pregnant Women’s Experiences of Household Roles: An Ethno-phenomenological Study

Introduction: There is a gender division in all societies. From the past, household labor has been indicated as a feminine duty even in the present which gender role orientations has been changed. As pregnancy is an important phase for studying the division of labor, this study aimed to discover the meaning of the Pregnant Women’s Experiences in household role.Method: This study was conducted using an ethno-phenomenological approach. 18 Pregnant women with Maximum variation recruited via the purposed sampling during 2016-2017. In-depth semi-structured interviews, Vignette, observation, field note have been used for data collection. MAXQDA software 10 was used to analyze the data.Finding: Data analysis led to the emergence the main theme: couples preservation, keep up and protection the household role . This was derived from two themes: Mother’s efforts in playing the household role(sub-themes : maintaining the central role of a women in doing housework, mother s preference for independent management of life affairs, asking for help from others in house affairs and gender tracking in managing house affairs ).The other theme was Spouse Encountering the Home Affairs(Spouse Preferences in Performing Home Affairs, Spouse s Expectations of Woman in Playing household Role, The Minimum and Maximum Participation of the Spouse in House Affairs) Conclusion: The consequence of all endeavors of pregnant women along with their husbands creates the experience of preserving and maintaining the importance of Household role. Based on the above results in which beliefs and attitudes play an important role in this regard it is necessary to design gender sensitive and gender-based training programs to empower pregnant women and increase their overall health.