Constructions and experiences of motherhood in the context of an early intervention for Aboriginal mothers and their children: mother and healthcare worker perspectives.

Jane M Ussher,Rosie Charter,Janette Perz,Chloe Parton

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3312-6

Abstract

BackgroundThe colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/child relationship. Early-intervention programs have been developed to assist families to overcome disadvantage and strengthen mother/child attachment. However, there is no research examining Aboriginal women’s subjective experiences and constructions of motherhood in the context of such programs, and no research on the perceived impact of such programs, from the perspective of Aboriginal mothers and healthcare workers (HCWs), with previous research focusing on child outcomes.MethodResearchers conducted participant observation of an early intervention program for Aboriginal mothers and young children over a 6 month period, one-to-one interviews and a focus group with 10 mothers, and interviews with nine HCWs, in order to examine their perspectives on motherhood and the intervention program.ResultsThematic analysis identified 2 major themes under which subthemes were clustered. Constructions of motherhood: ‘The resilient mother: Coping with life trauma and social stress’ and ‘The good mother: Transformation of self through motherhood’; Perspectives on the intervention: ‘“Mothers come to life”: Transformation through therapy’; and ‘“I know I’m a good mum”: The need for connections, skills and time for self’.ConclusionsThe mothers constructed themselves as being resilient ‘good mothers’, whilst also acknowledging their own traumatic life experiences, predominantly valuing the peer support and time-out aspects of the program. HCWs positioned the mothers as ‘traumatised’, yet also strong, and expressed the view that in order to improve mother/child attachment a therapeutic transformation is required. These results suggest that early interventions for Aboriginal mothers should acknowledge and strengthen constructions of the good and resilient mother. The differing perspectives of mothers and HCWs on the role and impact of the early intervention program reinforces the need for Aboriginal mothers to be involved in the design and implementation of services aimed at assisting their families.

Highlights

The colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/ child relationship
Constructions of motherhood: ‘The resilient mother: Coping with life trauma and social stress’ and ‘The good mother: Transformation of self through motherhood’; Perspectives on the intervention: ‘“Mothers come to life”: Transformation through therapy’; and ‘“I know I’m a good mum”: The need for connections, skills and time for self’
healthcare workers (HCWs) positioned the mothers as ‘traumatised’, yet strong, and expressed the view that in order to improve mother/child attachment a therapeutic transformation is required. These results suggest that early interventions for Aboriginal mothers should acknowledge and strengthen constructions of the good and resilient mother

Summary

Introduction

The colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/ child relationship. The colonisation of Australia has initiated a cycle of trauma and marginalisation which has had an almost universally negative impact on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians [3, 19]. Aboriginal children are removed from their families at a younger age and spend a significantly longer time in care, in comparison to a non-Aboriginal sample [7]. Disparities in child removal rates are attributed to ongoing Aboriginal ‘disadvantage’; some researchers and Aboriginal advocates assert that Eurocentric judgements continue to be passed on Aboriginal families and their cultural parenting practices [3, 18, 27, 48]

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