Who am I now that I'm a mother - again and again and again: a study of the shifting sense of selfhood experienced by mothers of multiple preschool children: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
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- Title
- Who am I now that I'm a mother - again and again and again: a study of the shifting sense of selfhood experienced by mothers of multiple preschool children: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
- Creator
- Sarah Hirsh Draper
- Date
- 2014
- Abstract
- In the context of a particular demographic of educated, professional women coming to motherhood later, there is a suggestion that mothers are clustering their pregnancies, mindful of biological aging and fertility. The focus of this research is to gain some understanding of the experience of mothering a number of preschool children and its impact upon a woman's sense of selfhood. Such a study is important to begin to illuminate a relatively unexplored area. It is argued that this might be relevant to the mental health outcomes of mothers but also indirectly to the children in their care. The research methods included a review of relevant literature and an IPA study of five participants who were interviewed about the phenomena. The findings, illuminated by interviews, underline the impact upon selfhood of mothering a number of young children. Along with an, at times, symbiotic relationship between the participants and their children, there was an inherent paradox of deep love and rewards of self, juxtaposed with the practical demands, and more difficult conflictual and ambivalent feelings. The promulgated view that subsequent babies have less impact upon a mother's experience was underlined along with the impact of societal expectations that perhaps make it more difficult for mothers of multiple young children to voice a need for support. There was recognition of a particularly deeply intense experience by the women in this study, and the wider implications for the impact on selfhood and psyche. This dissertation recommends more awareness and education around the level of intensity faced by mothers of multiple preschool children for psychotherapists, particularly, and more broadly for society as a whole.
- Subject
- Motherhood|Identity (Psychology)|Psychotherapy--Practice|
- Psychotherapy and Counselling
- Extent
- 111 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Regent's University London
- degree
- MA in Psychotherapy and Counselling
- Language
- English
- Date Issued
- 2014
- Type
- Thesis & Dissertation
- Rights Holder
- Regent's University London & Sarah Hirsh Draper
- Item sets
- Theses or Dissertation