Case Study
Maternal Health for CALD Women Resource
eCALD Supplementary Resources
Case Study 14: Giving Bad News (Chinese)
The following case is presented to readers to reflect on the culture-related expectations of the couple. The case study explores how to manage the communication of bad news with the couple and to assist them with informed decision-making.
Jinjing Xu arrived from Shanghai with her husband 5 years ago. She is pregnant for the first time. Mrs Xu has a scan at 25 weeks of gestation. The scan reveals that the baby is a girl and that she has a cleft palate. Jinjing and her husband are determined to terminate the pregnancy. There is a lot of pressure from Jinjing’s mother-in-law in China who expects a grandson and a perfect baby.
In China, late termination and abortion is acceptable. Abortion clinics are government- funded and termination of pregnancy services are available on request for women except in cases of sex-selective abortion. Despite this policy, sex-selective abortion continues to be prevalent and practiced because it is not easy for the Chinese government to regulate the practice and son-preference in Chinese families persists. In many cases the couple can pay, when having an ultrasound or will try to pay to be told the sex of their child. (Hesketh et al, 2005; Junhong, 2001).