Search results

In this chapter, we use feminist and intersectional frameworks to explore how marginalized mothers discuss maternal support. In-depth interviews with an economically diverse group of 21 mothers of color suggest that most affluent, married Black mothers framed support as child-centric and engaged in concerted cultivation (Lareau, 2011) practices. Lower income, single Black mothers engaged in a strategy we call “nurtured growth” – they used low-cost school, church, and community-based resources to promote their children’s development. In contrast to these child-centric strategies of support, three mothers used mother-centric supports and practiced self-care. The families of these three mothers, however, often criticized their parenting efforts as “parenting like a White person.” The authors conclude by exploring the implications of our study for feminist outreach efforts on behalf of marginalized mothers.

Depressive symptoms are higher among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Many studies have evidenced associations between school disconnectedness and depressive symptoms by race and ethnicity in adolescence (Joyce & Early, 2014; Walsemann, Bell, & Maitra, 2011). Given that adolescents spend most of their time at home when they are not at school (Larson & Richards, 2001), it is important to understand how mother-child relationships may moderate school disconnectedness, and how mother–child relationships may serve as a protective buffer for depressive symptoms in the transition to adulthood. I use data from Waves II and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) from 1995 to 2002 (n = 9,766) and OLS regression analysis to examine how school disconnectedness in adolescence is associated with depressive symptoms in the transition to adulthood, and how mother–child relationships in adolescence moderate these associations in the United States. I examine differences in these relationships across racial and ethnic groups. I find that school disconnectedness in adolescence is associated with increased depressive symptoms in the transition to adulthood, and that maternal warmth and communication moderates the association between school disconnectedness and depressive symptoms. Maternal relationship quality in adolescence serves as an important protective factor for mental health in the transition to adulthood.

Uses data from 1994 International Social Survey Programme to examine how attitudes to maternal employment at different stages of child rearing vary across and within eight nations in the European Union, UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Considers whether a mismatch exists between belief in a women’s right to work and the “traditional” family ideology. Highlights a north/south divide in attitude and differing welfare policies and gender‐role beliefs.

In recent years, the topic of maternal imprisonment has experienced a significantly raised profile, generating new knowledge and understanding surrounding the impact of maternal imprisonment on mothers and their children (Baldwin, 2015, 2017, 2018; Baldwin & Epstein, 2017; Booth, 2017; Lockwood, 2017, 2018; Masson, 2019). However, the long-term impact of maternal imprisonment and subsequent resettlement, particularly in relation to maternal identity and emotion, is less well-researched or understood. This chapter, drawing on the authors research from across two projects with 46 post imprisoned mothers, highlights the significant impact, as described by the mothers, on their reintegration into their families and the persistent pains of maternal imprisonment. Mothers sometimes, decades post release, describe their ongoing trauma at being separated from their children, sometimes permanently. Those who remain in their children's lives describe how they feel ‘tainted’, ‘watched’, ‘judged’ and ‘permanently changed by their imprisonment’. For the mothers in the study who were also grandmothers, the effects appeared magnified, producing what grandmothers described as ‘layers of shame’. The chapter describes how this change, often negative perception of themselves as mothers, can interplay with mothers' ability to engage in rehabilitative processes and ultimately their desistance.

The chapter concludes with recommendations to avoid, wherever possible, the criminalisation of mothers, resulting in fewer imprisonments. In the event of imprisonment, greater consideration must be afforded to maternal experience and emotions. To maximise success, early resettlement work, starting within and continuing through the prison gates is essential. Failure to do so may impact negatively on mothers' themselves and their ability to engage in rehabilitative planning/supervision and therefore desistance, which will ultimately broaden the impact to their children and wider society.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child's life. However, while the national coverage was 61.33%, the coverage in Sukoharjo was 39.33%. Effective intervention is needed to promote the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, and this requires knowledge of the barriers and support structures in place. This study analyzed the supports and barriers of exclusive breastfeeding in Sukoharjo, Central Java, Indonesia.

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews conducted from December 2017 to March 2018. The population consisted of 33 informants (29 mothers with babies over six months of age, a pregnant mother, two midwives working in the community health center and a staff member in the district health department).

There were barriers to and support for exclusive breastfeeding in Sukoharjo, Central Java province, Indonesia. The district already has support systems in place, while the barriers emerge from society, the baby's condition, environmental and other sources. The government has tried to overcome the barriers.

The limitation of this study was that the triangulation method was not utilized. However, the use of various informants strengthened the findings.

The district government, especially the health department, needs to establish a program to evaluate existing exclusive breastfeeding support programs thoroughly. Smarter and more comprehensive interventions may be needed, for example, by integrating various supports into one activity. For researchers, the findings of this study imply that they can conduct experimental community research using the framework of the two aforementioned theories of behavior change. For example, investigation of combining the support of trained peers with the presence of family members such as the grandmothers of the babies. If both types of support are conducted concurrently, it may strengthen support and reduce barriers from either inside or outside the home.

The district government, especially the health department, needs to establish a program to evaluate existing exclusive breastfeeding support programs thoroughly. Smarter and more comprehensive interventions may be needed, for example, by integrating various supports into one activity. For researchers, the findings of this study imply that they can conduct experimental community research using the framework of the two aforementioned theories of behavior change. For example, investigation of combining the support of trained peers with the presence of family members such as the grandmothers of the babies. If both types of support are conducted concurrently, it may strengthen support and reduce barriers from either inside or outside the home.

There are barriers to exclusive breastfeeding in Sukoharjo, but the government has made effective attempts to overcome them. The support systems in place were in line with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and social cognitive theory (SCT).

Caesarean section (CS) is being used as a life-saving surgical tool when complications arise in the process of childbirth. CS rates have dramatically increased across the world, especially in recent decades. In this background, the purpose of this paper is to explore the CS rates and its determinants in Karnataka, India.

The study uses multiple rounds of the District Level Household Survey (DLHS) data to show the trends, differentials and determinants in CS deliveries. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been carried out, and the χ² test and logistic regression models were applied.

Result shows a sharp increase in CS rates across Karnataka; further, this is high and reaches an alarming level in southern parts of the state. Along with a huge rural–urban difference, significant biological and socio-economic differences were observed. Further, a very dramatic increase in the CS rate was observed in private health facilities, whereas it was stagnant or even decreased in public health facilities during recent years. Mothers age at birth, birth weight, birth order, multiple births, birth institution and place of residence were significantly associated with CS delivery. Unlike these biological factors, the social-economic factors like maternal education, caste, religion and below poverty line household were not found to be significant in determining CS deliveries.

A strong policy to address the dramatic increase in CS deliveries is the need of the hour. Further, there should be a proper mechanism at national, state and sub-state level to provide appropriate checks and monitoring for CS deliveries which are unnecessary.

Nonresident fathers have the task of negotiating childrearing responsibilities while residing away from their children. Parenting stress arises when nonresident fathers perceive childrearing power differentials as maternal gatekeeping behaviors. In this pilot study, a mediation model was tested with a sample of Black fathers who reported coparenting a nonresident child or children with only one mother (n = 80). The proposed mediation model tested two hypotheses: (1) coparenting relationship and coparenting support, respectively, each have a direct effect on paternal stressors and (2) the effects of coparenting relationship and coparenting support on fathers’ paternal stressors are mediated through maternal gatekeeping behaviors. Findings indicate that cooperative coparenting lessens parental stressors such as concerns about role functions and concerns about their child’s behavior in the presence of controlling maternal gatekeeping behaviors.

As an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth understanding of adolescent experiences of maternal cancer to identify the individual and contextual factors that shape adolescent experiences and evaluates the potential applicability of the Family Ecology Model to the illness context.

This analysis is focussed on three female adolescents who completed semi-structured interviews, which were subjected to IPA. Maternal illness is a challenge for adolescents, which can be improved or undermined by their contexts. The analysis yielded three sub-themes: family structure, social supports, experiencing maternal cancer at a time of transition and the lasting impact of cancer.

This study found that adolescent experiences of maternal cancer depend on their contexts from an ecological perspective the type and quality of adolescent interactions determine coping and adjustment. Maternal cancer can be difficult as adolescents are already facing specific developmental challenges. Future research can benefit from adopting an ecological perspective to further understand adolescent experiences to support adolescent that may be more vulnerable and benefit from additional supports. This is not a generalisable piece of research but it provides a very deep and detailed understanding of the impact of maternal cancer on adolescents’ developmental course and determines how the complexity of their contexts can serve as a risk or a protective factor at this challenging time.

This paper contributes to the body of research by providing a comprehensive understanding of adolescents facing maternal cancer. The Ecological Model supports the findings of this research and proves to be a good model to understand the complex interplay between adolescents and their environments when facing a difficult challenge like maternal cancer is.

The purpose of this paper is to expand our understanding about the way women shape their career decisions during their transition to motherhood, through the exploration process, its facilitating factors and outcomes.

A longitudinal, quantitative method was used to investigate the vocational and maternal exploration processes. Workplace, spousal and family support served as facilitating factors, and vocational decisions and well-being as outcomes. Participants were 326 Israeli women during their transition to motherhood.

SEM analysis revealed a good model fit to the data. Workplace support had a positive effect on maternal exploration. Increased maternal exploration was positively associated with keeping working patterns before motherhood, and negatively associated with well-being.

The sample of the current study was limited to highly educated Israeli working women.

The results of the current study can serve career counselors policymakers and organizations in their efforts to encourage first-time mothers to retain their paid work patterns by supporting maternal exploration through creating family-friendly policies.

The current findings have demonstrated that social support factors contribute to the enhancement of the exploration process also in later developmental stages. Furthermore, these findings showed differential effects of managerial support on maternal exploration and vocational exploration.

This secondary data analysis explores the unmet needs of adolescents experiencing maternal cancer in Ireland. Research has shown that one of the challenges adolescents deal with at the time of maternal cancer is having unmet needs that can impact negatively on their experience and their ability to cope through this difficult challenge.

Fifteen adolescents completed qualitative interviews as part of a larger study that explored the experience of adolescent adjustment to maternal cancer. The transcripts of these original interviews were analysed using a secondary content analysis underpinned by the categories included in the Offspring Cancer Needs Instrument (Patterson et al., 2013).

The findings of this study suggest a necessity to individually explore the unmet needs of adolescents as these were not uniform even within a small sample of 15 adolescents. Unmet needs change and evolve over time as does maternal illness. Adolescents themselves identified the need for more education in the general public and in clinical practitioners on how to respond appropriately to their needs. It is crucial that adolescent's needs and emotions are validated at the time as part of the support provided for them.

This study provides important recommendations for practice and policy on how to provide tailored supports for adolescent who experience cancer in their families as currently there is a lack of effective and evidence-based targeted supports for this specific age group.