Ethnography of Communication in Doctor-pregnant Woman Conversations in Selected Hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper analyses the conversations of doctor-pregnant woman interactions from the perspective of ethnography of communication. The data were collected from randomly selected consultations between doctors and pregnant women from a state-owned and private-owned hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. The selection of the hospitals was based on a stratified sampling method of the hospitals in Ibadan. The conversations were tape recorded and transcribed. The analyses reveal that the ends of conversations between doctors and pregnant women include the need to safeguard the health of the mother and fetus, ensure a safe delivery, prescribe drugs and reassure the pregnant women about certain abnormalities they experience during the period. The analyses also reveal that doctors control the discourse by asking more questions than the pregnant women and that the typical act sequence of doctor-pregnant woman conversation follows the structure of greetings, diagnosis, inquiry, complaints, clarification, follow-up and treatment. The analysis of the doctor-pregnant woman conversational interaction from the perspective of ethnography of communication reveals how the interactants make sense of the conversations.