{"title":"“Mom's a bit different”: The challenges of first-time mothers with cerebral palsy in caring for their children from birth until age three","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.wsif.2024.102968","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This qualitative study examines childcare challenges and adaptive strategies among first-time Czech mothers with cerebral palsy (CP) in caring for children aged 0–3. Data obtained from ten semi-structured interviews were analyzed using selected procedures of situational analysis. The results were structured around three major themes: (1) The decision to become a mother and preparation for childcare tasks; (2) Challenges in childcare and adopted childcare strategies; (3) Social support received to manage childcare challenges. Along with findings related to the women with CP preparing themselves for the maternal role and childcare tasks, i.e. by attending a prenatal course to learn a suitable hand grip to safety hold their baby or to choose a suitable pram, the participants identified a number of practical childcare challenges they encountered postpartum. The first-time mothers initially tended to delegate challenging childcare tasks, such as lifting and carrying the newborn child, bathing and dressing or changing nappies, to family members or friends, with this support contributing to gradual development of the women's childcare methods to become an independent caregiver. Our findings underline the importance of sharing the lived experiences of mothers with CP with professional communities as well as the general public through formal education programs and informal community outreach.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47940,"journal":{"name":"Womens Studies International Forum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Womens Studies International Forum","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277539524001067","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"WOMENS STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This qualitative study examines childcare challenges and adaptive strategies among first-time Czech mothers with cerebral palsy (CP) in caring for children aged 0–3. Data obtained from ten semi-structured interviews were analyzed using selected procedures of situational analysis. The results were structured around three major themes: (1) The decision to become a mother and preparation for childcare tasks; (2) Challenges in childcare and adopted childcare strategies; (3) Social support received to manage childcare challenges. Along with findings related to the women with CP preparing themselves for the maternal role and childcare tasks, i.e. by attending a prenatal course to learn a suitable hand grip to safety hold their baby or to choose a suitable pram, the participants identified a number of practical childcare challenges they encountered postpartum. The first-time mothers initially tended to delegate challenging childcare tasks, such as lifting and carrying the newborn child, bathing and dressing or changing nappies, to family members or friends, with this support contributing to gradual development of the women's childcare methods to become an independent caregiver. Our findings underline the importance of sharing the lived experiences of mothers with CP with professional communities as well as the general public through formal education programs and informal community outreach.
期刊介绍:
Women"s Studies International Forum (formerly Women"s Studies International Quarterly, established in 1978) is a bimonthly journal to aid the distribution and exchange of feminist research in the multidisciplinary, international area of women"s studies and in feminist research in other disciplines. The policy of the journal is to establish a feminist forum for discussion and debate. The journal seeks to critique and reconceptualize existing knowledge, to examine and re-evaluate the manner in which knowledge is produced and distributed, and to assess the implications this has for women"s lives.