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"I wanted to do a good job": Experiences of 'becoming a mother' and breastfeeding in mothers of very preterm infants after discharge from a neonatal unit

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  • Flacking, Renée
  • Ewald, Uwe
  • Starrin, Bengt

Abstract

In mothers of preterm infants, the process of becoming a mother is initiated in a public and medical environment, in which the mothers become dependent on the benevolence and support of the staff. This setting and an experience of insecure social bonds impair the ability to become a mother during the infant's stay at the neonatal unit (NU), and breastfeeding may become a duty and not be mutually satisfying. Studies on how women experience becoming a mother and breastfeeding after the infant's discharge are sparse and this question is addressed in the present grounded theory study. Twenty five mothers, whose very preterm infants had received care in seven NUs in Sweden, were interviewed once, 1-12 months after discharge. We propose a model to increase understanding of the process of becoming a mother and breastfeeding, after the infant's discharge from the NU. The mother's emotional expressions in this process showed pendular swings from feeling emotionally exhausted to feeling relieved, from experiencing an insecure to a secure bond, and from regarding breastfeeding as being non-reciprocal to being reciprocal. Unresolved grief, the institutional authority at the NU and experiences of shame were three of the central barriers to a secure and reciprocal relationship. The pendular changes give us a deeper understanding of the variations in both attachment and attunement. Perhaps the negative extremes are more prominent among these mothers on account of their infant's illness and their NU experiences. If our proposed model is valid, it is vital that these findings are considered by those involved in the short- and long-term care in order to support the mothers to establish a secure bond, comprising both attachment and attunement.

Suggested Citation

  • Flacking, Renée & Ewald, Uwe & Starrin, Bengt, 2007. ""I wanted to do a good job": Experiences of 'becoming a mother' and breastfeeding in mothers of very preterm infants after discharge from a neonatal unit," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 2405-2416, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:64:y:2007:i:12:p:2405-2416
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Flacking, Renée & Ewald, Uwe & Nyqvist, Kerstin Hedberg & Starrin, Bengt, 2006. "Trustful bonds: A key to "becoming a mother" and to reciprocal breastfeeding. Stories of mothers of very preterm infants at a neonatal unit," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 70-80, January.
    2. Lupton, Deborah & Fenwick, Jennifer, 2001. "'They've forgotten that I'm the mum': constructing and practising motherhood in special care nurseries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(8), pages 1011-1021, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacqueline Elizabeth van Wijlen, 2019. "Breastfeeding woman or lactating object? A critical philosophical discussion on the influence of Cartesian dualism on breastfeeding in the neonatal intensive care unit," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5-6), pages 1022-1031, March.
    2. Wu, Qiong & Farley, Tatjana & Cui, Ming, 2021. "Breastfeeding, maternal psychopathological symptoms, and infant problem behaviors among low-income mothers returning to work," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    3. Neely, Eva, 2023. "Theorising mother-baby-assemblages: The vital emergence of maternal health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    4. Sunna Símonardóttir, 2016. "Getting the Green Light: Experiences of Icelandic Mothers Struggling with Breastfeeding," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(4), pages 82-94, November.

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