SPECIAL HEALTH-CARE NEEDS OF HOMELESS PREGNANT-WOMEN

As women and families join the ranks of the homeless in increasing num bers, many women find themselves confronting both pregnancy and homele ssness. When pregnancy accompanies the precarious state of homelessnes s, the need for adequate shelter is not being met during one of the mo st critical periods of a woman's life. This article focuses on the uni que health needs of homeless pregnant women. Detailed accounts of the daily life experiences of African American, Angle, and Latina homeless pregnant women were derived from an ethnographic study conducted in a large metropolitan area in southern California. Their pregnancies wer e difficult because normal physiological changes of pregnancy often be came pathological, signs of potential complications went unnoticed or unattended, and minor discomforts of pregnancy were exacerbated by the women's environment. Nursing therapeutics that support health mainten ance and coping strategies of the women while on the streets or in she lters were explicated.