The Role of Spirituality in the Lives of Women Coping with Early Motherhood

Abstract

The transition to motherhood is a deeply personal experience that can have an effect on women’s psychological, social, and spiritual sense of self. This qualitative study explored women’s lived experiences of their transition to motherhood and the role that spirituality plays in the process of transformation. Six women, two with postpartum depression, were interviewed on their experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, early motherhood, and spirituality. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze interview data and identify emergent themes in women’s experiences of motherhood. Two superordinate themes emerged—Reality of Motherhood and Motherhood Awakens Spirituality. Spirituality was “centered” in the women’s overall experience of motherhood. The women emphasized the importance of spiritual connections to others and the divine in their understanding of what it means to be a mother. The women with postpartum depression described similar but more intense experiences in their transition to motherhood in comparison to women who did not have postpartum depression. The findings highlight how the experiences of motherhood and spirituality mutually influence each other toward the development of an integrated identity as mother. Clinicians need to attend to the potential positive and negative roles of spirituality in women’s transition to motherhood and intervene early to address any indications of emotional or spiritual struggle in women’s adjustment.