New Motherhood Concepts, Implications for Healthcare. A Qualitative Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
“Well, I didn’t manage to get time to make some exercise, I didn’t manage to get time to do anything but being with him (the baby), but neither I wanted to, nor I want to, yet. That is why I am considering whether return to my job or not.” (DGM27, mothers’ discussion group).
“[…] is a little more the part in which you think that you have to take care of your partner in that way, because, of course, they don’t experience so many changes in their bodies nor so much hormonal changes” (IM4, in-depth interview with mothers).
“I do feel wrong sometimes, when I leave her, like, Damn it! And it is only for an hour, I know it is not a long time….but still…” (DGM25, Mothers’ discussion group).
“Of course, nobody tells them so. Everybody tells them to give everything to the baby, right? And they feel they are better mothers if they look untidy while taking care of their baby, so maybe is that precisely what is expected from them, right? Then if, if they tell their own mother or their mother-in-law to take the baby for a little while to have a shower, to sleep for a while, they feel like bad mothers.” (DGPr14, healthcare professionals’ discussion group).
“But I have days when is absolutely exhausting. So, when they arrive at 8 pm, I go into the bathroom and cry a little, saying: “I can’t any more, today I can’t take any more…today I am overwhelmed, I am overcome by the situation.” Because you want to cope with everything…and you feel that you are coping with nothing. And that, for me, is the most complicated issue.” (IM1, in-depth interview with mothers).
“[…] I think that the hardest issue for my wife, if I have to say, more than the hormones, more than any change of these type, was the fact that, having a baby, no matter how good she is, she has not enough time to do everything she wants to do along the day. That is, clearly, more than clearly, the hardest issue for her, above all.” (IP2, in-depth interview with partners).
“Everything has been quite normal, until she returned to work. It is then, when I have seen like a little sensation that everything is overwhelming to her, right? She has returned like, with her issues, her two jobs. Then it has been really, really hard for her. Then, regarding that, I have seen her a little more shaken. To feel that she has not, she cannot do things that she did so easily before, now it is hard for her“. (DGP8, partners’ discussion group).
“Because people tell you that it is wonderful and they’re super happy, then, why I don’t feel like that. Then you punish yourself, “I want to be ok, and I am not”. But that is because they have told you a reality that is not like that” (DGM36, mothers’ discussion group).
“Well… sometimes motherhood is a little…stressing, depending on the expectations that you had before, or not.” (DGPr13, healthcare professionals’ discussion group).
“Awkward, I felt awkward. I felt….I don’t mean obliged, because, my poor thing, on the contrary, he has respected me a lot. But it was for me, like a duty that….” (IM11, in-depth interview with mothers).
“It is like, everything, it is that you no longer recognize yourself, I do not recognize myself, at least […] I cannot look at myself directly in the mirror…” (IM1, in-depth interview with mothers).
“Well, then….well…wrong. Honestly, wrong. Because, also, him…He expected me to be the same lioness in bed, you know? And…No, I do not any longer.” (IM2, in-depth interview with mothers).
“And I am, like, afraid of, as I know that he liked me a lot like I was before, I am afraid that he doesn’t like me as I am now, you know? Then, sometimes…” (IM2, in-depth interview with mothers).
“This reveals to us unconditional love, it is a unique chance for learning how to love ourselves in an unconditional way, the same as we love the baby. The power of healing our self-esteem and self-love that will surely get us to a good shore in the future.” (FOM13, online forum for mothers)
“Well, I think so, I think that it has an impact on her for good […], If this has changed her, it is a good change, for sure.” (DGP8, partners’ discussion group).
“And it seems that you even feel guilty and a bad mom about feeling the way you feel or thinking the way you think…I don’t know, I think that maybe it would be necessary to have better information about postpartum and the…the emotional changes that you’re going to suffer or may suffer.” (IM8, in-depth interview with mothers).
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Topis |
How are you experiencing this new stage (after childbirth)? |
How do you feel about your body after childbirth? |
How do you feel about reinitiating sexual relations? |
How are you experiencing the bond with your baby? |
How stressful is this new stage? |
Could you tell me if you have felt insecure at any point of this new stage? |
Do you think there is any factor that influences your satisfaction as a partner? |
Demographic Data | n | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Mothers | 36 | ||
Age (years) | |||
25–30 | 2 | 5.55 | |
31–35 | 24 | 66.66 | |
36–39 | 10 | 27.77 | |
Number of births | |||
1 | 21 | 58.33 | |
2 | 12 | 33.33 | |
3 | 3 | 8.33 | |
Civil status | |||
Married | 28 | 77.77 | |
Not married | 8 | 22.22 | |
Educational level | |||
Secondary Education | 6 | 16.66 | |
University Education | 26 | 72.22 | |
MSc or PhD | 4 | 11.11 | |
Partners | 8 | ||
Age (years) | |||
30–35 | 2 | 25 | |
36–39 | 3 | 37.5 | |
40 or more | 3 | 37.5 | |
Number of children | |||
1 | 4 | 50 | |
2 | 3 | 37.5 | |
3 | 1 | 12.5 | |
Civil status | |||
Married | 5 | 62.5 | |
Not married | 3 | 37.5 | |
Educational Level | |||
Secondary Education | 1 | 12.5 | |
University Education | 3 | 37.5 | |
MSc or PhD | 4 | 50 | |
Healthcare Professionals | 15 | ||
Midwives | 6 | 40 | |
Physical Therapists | 5 | 33.33 | |
Gynecologists | 4 | 26.66 | |
Age (years) | |||
30–35 | 4 | 26.66 | |
35–40 | 5 | 33.33 | |
40 years or more | 6 | 40 | |
Experience (years) | |||
Less than 10 | 6 | 40 | |
10–14 | 3 | 20 | |
15–19 | 2 | 13.33 | |
20–24 | 1 | 6.66 | |
More than 25 | 3 | 20 |
“New motherhood” | Lack of self-priority (86 units of meaning) | Baby care |
Partner care | ||
Lack of self-care | ||
Self-demand (155 units of meaning) | “Being a supermom” | |
Frustration | ||
“Being an obligation” | ||
Self-esteem (158 units of meaning) | Corporal image | |
Fear of not being likeable | ||
Personal transformation |
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Delgado-Pérez, E.; Yuste-Sánchez, M.J.; Pérez-Martín, Y.; Abuín-Porras, V.; Rodríguez-Costa, I. New Motherhood Concepts, Implications for Healthcare. A Qualitative Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 13118. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413118
Delgado-Pérez E, Yuste-Sánchez MJ, Pérez-Martín Y, Abuín-Porras V, Rodríguez-Costa I. New Motherhood Concepts, Implications for Healthcare. A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(24):13118. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413118
Chicago/Turabian StyleDelgado-Pérez, Esther, Maria José Yuste-Sánchez, Yolanda Pérez-Martín, Vanesa Abuín-Porras, and Isabel Rodríguez-Costa. 2021. "New Motherhood Concepts, Implications for Healthcare. A Qualitative Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 24: 13118. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413118