Ideal Mother Research Articles

“An inner core feeling”?: Nationalism, Western capitalism, and Bengali women's class‐based mothering ideologies

AbstractObjectiveWe analyze motherhood identities among middle‐ and working‐class women in urban Bengal.BackgroundWesternized societies encourage women to pursue careers and childrearing. Researchers examine this tension in diverse Western contexts and the Indian middle class. We add to existing work by comparing Indian women's motherhood ideologies across social class.MethodsWe use in‐depth qualitative interviews with mothers in structured (i.e., middle‐class) and unstructured (i.e., working‐class) economic sectors.ResultsEconomically privileged mothers diminished the importance of paid work and emphasized Western mothering strategies. Mothers in unstructured sectors drew on nation‐building rhetoric to construct socially valued mothering identities.ConclusionsMainstream mothering approaches (i.e., popular images of childrearing by upper‐class women) benefit patriarchal capitalist social structures by encouraging women to work for pay and take primary responsibility for home and family. Mothers' social class and status positions in historical and societal context(s) influence the tools (i.e., forms of capital) they have available to parent their children and construct valued mothering identities.ImplicationsStrategies marginalized mothers use to construct mothering identities when faced with dominant exclusionary narratives of a “good mother” can be understood and used strategically. Embracing ideologies that allow women to maintain integrity in the face of stigmatization has transformative potential for policymaking and service provision.

‘In or Out’ or ‘In‐And‐Out’: The Social Identity Transition of Female Academics During the Perinatal Period

ABSTRACTThe career trajectories of working mothers in academia could be adversely impacted by maternity breaks given the professional demand for consistent research performance. This study employs the postmodernist perspective of identity which addresses social context to unpack in‐depth accounts of female academics' social identity transition throughout their perinatal period (pregnancy till 1‐year post‐birth). We collected 93 critical incidents via interviews from 23 academics who completed their perinatal period between 2019 and 2022. We found the identity transition was more dynamic than linear. This enabled us to develop a multi‐dimensional identity grid matrix to illustrate the varied transitional statuses these mothers encountered as a consequence of the ongoing (re)negotiation between self and social structures (in‐and‐out of salient social identities). Hence, the social identities of academic mothers can be betwixt among multiple identities. The findings can help HR practitioners in forming a more supportive and consensual working culture, thereby and facilitating working mothers' ability to develop positive resources for a better social‐self.

Problematising Sharenting of Supermoms in a Neoliberal Context

The representation of motherhood using digital platforms, which we call sharenting, can shape the socially constructed motherhood identity, i.e., supermoms in modern societies. Despite building a positive identity as mothers, supermoms may unintentionally violate their children’s privacy, instrumentalise, and even monetise the children. We examine sharenting and supermom identities as manifestations of neoliberal repositioning women as mothers and employees with little consideration of their unarticulated struggles. Drawing on a netnographic study of social media practices, we analysed fifteen working supermom accounts with over two hundred thousand followers, where child-related content was shared and posted between 2019 and 2023. We find that sharenting is often employed to construct the identity of supermoms, yet it frequently leads to the exploitation of children for profit-driven purposes, thereby increasing their vulnerability. We contribute to the literature by offering empirical evidence that the supermom identity is a by-product of the neoliberal system, which normalises time-intensive demands on women in the workplace and caregiving roles. Furthermore, we highlight the adverse consequences of sharenting and provide critical insights into the privacy and security risks associated with child-related digital content.

“I’m not a bad mother:” the experience of stigma among mothers with substance use disorder in the criminal justice system

ABSTRACT This study explores the impacts of stigma on the lives of pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorder (SUD) and justice involvement. We also uncover how some women were able to cope with adversity and take steps to develop resilience. To guide our research, we combined Bos and colleagues’ stigma theory with Windle’s concept of resilience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 pregnant or parenting women in Western New York to uncover the contextual factors influencing care, resources, and social support. Our findings suggest that the presence of stigma hinders pregnant and parenting women’s access to resources, care, and treatments while reinforcing marginalization, isolation, and continued substance use. Despite these challenges, some participants found ways to navigate and mitigate stigma while promoting resilience. Protective factors and strategies included: maintaining a positive motherhood identity, leveraging social support often outside the nuclear family, and having access to supportive, compassionate justice system resources. Understanding the strategies women with SUD use to overcome adversity can inform approaches that judges, case workers, and health care providers can use to engage and support women in recovery and reduce their experience of stigma.

Violence, Volition, and Volatility: The Embodied Subjectivity of Women in Cults

This paper explores the embodied experience of 25 women who are former cult members. By delving into the stories of three protagonists, we examine how these women engaged with and possibly redefined the cult's socially constructed notion of womanhood. Building on Elizabeth Grosz's theory of subjective embodiment, we demonstrate how these feminine subjectivities were born at the convergence of three distinct forms of authority: charismatic leadership, the influence of Jewish tradition, and the principles of New Age spirituality. Through these lenses, these women formed their own ideals of motherhood and 'maternal instincts, thus subverting the corporal and symbolic norms dictated by the cult. This multi‐faceted approach illuminates how former cult members navigate and resist prescribed roles, ultimately fostering a nuanced understanding of the interplay between authority, tradition, and personal agency in their experiences.

Privileged transmigrant motherhood and its practices of distinction

ABSTRACT Transnational motherhood and Latin-American migrants in the U.S. have been explored in the literature primarily in the context of labor migration and marginalized identities. Existing research delves into how mothers negotiate the challenges and opportunities posed by migration in their parenting journeys. However, scholars advocate to look closer at how the social location of individuals create specific sets of experiences. Using the lenses of transnationalism and translocational positionalities, I look at the motherhood identities of 32 mothers in the U.S. who belong to higher socioeconomic levels in Colombia. I find that through their motherhood practices and discourses, participants perform class distinctions to distance themselves from negative stereotypes associated with migrants from Latin America and white U.S. American culture. Addressing the nuances of motherhood, class, and race within the context of migration is a step toward understanding how identities and ideologies transcend transnational boundaries and the role they play in simultaneously fostering and hindering social inequalities.

Mismatched: Intensive Mothering in China's Urban Villages

As the PRC is woven ever more tightly into transnational circuits of culture and capital, Chinese working-class subjectivities—like middle-class ones, but also distinctively—become (re)produced through increasingly transnational processes. This includes the new reach of global discourses like intensive mothering into China’ s migrant-worker population. Intensive mothering has long been learned as the dominant culture of motherhood in North America. Along with other products and ideas, this ideology of intensive mothering is imported to China’ s new generation of mothers, supported by the state’ s emphasis on scientific child-rearing and the social media boom. Euro-American middle-class mothers, depicted as ideal mothers who abide by expert knowledge and cultivate their children’ s talent accordingly, are represented as counterexamples to traditional Chinese mothers in mass media. Migrant mothers in the urban villages of China have learned and internalized this ideology of intensive mothering along with their rural-to-urban migration through reading and interactions with medical and educational experts. Based on eight months of ethnographic research in two urban villages in southern China, this article presents research into how migrant mothers become trapped in the mismatches between the Euro-American, urban middle-class ideology of intensive mothering and their own position in the social class hierarchy. With limited economic and cultural resources, learning and internalizing intensive mothering disempowers migrant mothers and makes them feel even less competent. In response, they find other alternatives to reassert their agency.

Специфика родительской идентичности замещающих матерей

<p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The article presents the results of a master’s study of the specifics of the parental identity of substitute mothers with teenage children. Parental attitudes, the degree of acceptance of the parental role, the ratio of ideas about the ideal mother and about oneself as a mother, the stage of personal identity were considered as components of their parental identity. It is proved that the identity of foster mothers has its own specifics, which is expressed in inconsistency, insufficient acceptance of the parental position, attitudes towards an overprotective parenting style of foster children, insufficient attention to the emotional side of the relationship with the child, with higher assessments of their parental competencies compared to biological mothers. The study involved 60 mothers, 30 of whom raised their own children and 30 adopted ones.</span></p>

Effectiveness of Use Partograph during Labour among Staff Nurses

Events such as pregnancy and childbirth affect almost every fact of the human experience. Pregnancy alters a woman's body and mind. A partogram, also known as a partograph, is a single sheet of paper that has a composite graphical record of important labor-related data (fetal and maternal) entered against time. Statistics like cervical dilation, fetal heart rate, labor time, and vital signs are examples of pertinent metrics. The partograph is an invaluable tool for identifying indicators of maternal anxiety, irregular labor progress, and fetal distress. The partograph is intended to record the following: the mother's identity, the fetal heart rate, the color of the amniotic fluid, the fetal skull's molding, cervical dilatation, the fetal descent, the uterine contractions, and whether oxytocin was given or not.  Objectives: Determine staff nurses in the experimental and control groups' degree of expertise & efficiency about using partograph during labor.  Methodology:  Research Design: True experimental research design used in study,  Sampling technique & Population. . A basic random sample procedure was used to choose the 60 staff nurses for the study (30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group). A study was conducted using a standardized interview schedule. .  Result: In experimental group of staff nurses had 70% of adequate knowledge about partograph in post test and in control group 30 % of staff nurses only have adequate knowledge about partograph in post test .  Conclusion The study helped the researcher to finalize the importance & use of partograph in labour among staff nurses in progress of labour. partograph is an invaluable tool for identifying indicators of maternal anxiety, irregular labor progress, and fetal distress.

"Motherhood forced me to cope with my disability": identity intersection among mothers with physical disabilities.

Although motherhood plays a meaningful role in the formation of a woman's identity, most studies have focused on the process of identity transformation in the transition to motherhood among non-disabled women; less is known about this process among women with physical disabilities who become mothers. The present study aimed to understand and describe the subjective experiences of Israeli women with lifelong physical disabilities in their motherhood journey from the perspective of the intersection of their motherhood and disability identities, and from the disability studies approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 Israeli mothers with visible lifelong physical disabilities who live in the community and raise their children. Three themes emerged from the interviews: (1) the decision to become a mother: Coping with the disability identity for the first time; (2) The FIRST 3 years: Depending on others as limiting their motherhood identity; (3) after age three: Balancing the motherhood and disability identities. The transition to motherhood led to identity transformation among women with physical disabilities. Becoming a mother increased the tension between dependence and independence in the context of disability, which also influenced the intersection of their motherhood and disability identities and their wellbeing. Practitioners should provide emotional support to mothers with disabilities and help them embrace the positive aspects of each identity and strike a balance between them.

Scrambling for power or cooperation for stability: A case study of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship in China

The mother/daughter-in-law relationship is considered as the tensest in-law relationships in Chinese society. This study adopted retrospective interviews, observations and instant talks with two dyads of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to explore the nature of their relationships, language use and strategies employed in their daily discourse to scramble for power. The findings indicated that both mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law applied politeness and impoliteness strategies to save the face or manipulate power within a family. In addition, they reconstructed mother identities to make their own uterine family stable. This study is expected to make contributions to the understanding of the dynamicity and complexity of the mother/daughter-in-law relationships in China.

Analisis Faktor Usia, Pendidikan dan Pekerjaan Ibu terhadap Tingkat Pengetahuan Ibu Balita Stunting tentang Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat di Kabupaten Balangan

Based on the results of the 2022 Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey (SSGI), the prevalence of stunting in South Kalimantan is 30% above the national figure, namely 24.4%. One of the factors causing stunting is infectious diseases such as diarrhea, worms, and tuberculosis. These infectious diseases are closely related to healthy lifestyles which are reflected in Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS) in the Household. Factors that influence the implementation of PHBS include age, education, employment and mother's knowledge, so it is necessary to study the relationship between these factors in order to create a healthy lifestyle in the family environment. This research uses an analytical survey method with a cross sectional design. The population of this study was mothers who had stunted toddlers in 34 villages in Balangan Regency, totaling 379 respondents. The sampling technique uses total sampling. The research instrument was a questionnaire on the mother's identity and knowledge about PHBS. Data analysis used the chi-square test. The results of the study showed that the majority of stunting mothers of toddlers were in the age range 20 - 40 years, namely 328 respondents (85.5%), the highest level of education was secondary education at 222 respondents (58.6%), the majority of respondents did not work as many as 258 respondents (68.1%) and the level of knowledge of respondents about PHBS mostly had knowledge in the good category, namely 255 respondents (67.3%). Conclusion of this study there is a relationship between mother's occupation and mother's knowledge.

‘Plan Z and then off the edge of a cliff’: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of mothers’ experience of living with a slow-to-heal Caesarean wound

BackgroundStudies indicate that complex postsurgical wound healing can significantly alter biopsychological markers responsible for recovery. Yet, there is a lack of research investigating women's experience of living with slow-to-heal Caesarean birth wounds. This is an important area of investigation considering the increase of factors associated with surgical births and poor wound healing in the UK and globally. AimThe aim of this study was to explore women's experiences of living with a slow-to-heal Caesarean wound. MethodSemi-structured interviews were conducted with seven women who had lived experience of slow-to-heal Caesarean wounds. Narratives were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. ResultsAnalysis of women's narratives revealed three interlinking superordinate themes of 1) ‘Tied to that event’: healing physical and emotional wounds, 2) The ‘good mother’ and the ‘good patient’: negotiating being a carer and being cared for, and 3) ‘Adjusting to a new normality’. Overall, slow-to-heal wounds embodied women's perceptions of agency over their Caesarean birth experience and achievement of a new motherhood identity. Wherein, successful healing would encompass a sense of normality defined by subjective notions of regaining expected roles and daily activities, previous bodily functions, and maternal status within their families that became disrupted due to delayed wound healing. ConclusionWomen's narratives support discourse surrounding Caesarean birth and recovery as a biopsychosocial phenomenon. This has important ramifications regarding research and treatment programmes for postnatal women with complex healing that are largely described as ‘invisible’.

The relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers’ social identity and wellbeing: a cross-sectional observational study

BackgroundExperiencing childbirth as traumatic is common and can have long-lasting negative consequences for women’s mental health. However, fostering a sense of social identity has been shown to protect psychological wellbeing and mental health during life transitions, such as entering parenthood. This study therefore investigated the relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers’ social identity and their psychological wellbeing, and more specifically whether strength of identity as a first-time mother protected psychological wellbeing following traumatic childbirth.MethodWomen over the age of 18 who were living in the UK and had given birth to their first child in the past nine months were recruited to the study from clinical and community settings. They completed digital self-report questionnaires about their birth experience, social identity, mental health, and psychological wellbeing. Women who perceived themselves to have had a traumatic birth (the trauma group; N = 84) were compared to women who did not perceive themselves to have had a traumatic birth (the control group, N = 39). T-tests and chi square tests assessed preliminary group differences before multivariate analyses of covariance controlled for covariates. Post-hoc tests identified the direction of differences. Multiple regression and moderation analyses analysed interaction effects.ResultsThe trauma group had significantly lower psychological wellbeing (mean = 41.5, 95% CI [39.4–43.7], p = .008, partial η2 = 0.059), compared to the control group (mean = 48.4, 95% CI [45.3–51.5]), but the two groups did not differ in the strength of their first-time mother identity, which was high across both groups. Strength of identity did not moderate the relationship between traumatic childbirth and psychological wellbeing. Giving birth by caesarean section independently reduced the strength of the first-time mother identity (p = .017, partial η2 = 0.049). All analyses controlled for emotional and practical support, perceptions of healthcare staff, and mode of birth.ConclusionsHaving a traumatic birth was associated with lower psychological wellbeing, and the strength of first-time mother identity does not appear to moderate this relationship. Factors such as mode of birth may be more important. Further research, including longitudinal designs, is needed to understand the relationship between these constructs and identify more effective ways of protecting first-time mothers’ mental health.

Family, Parenting, and Motherhood: Myth and Reality in Media and Political Discourses and Implications for Social Work

The central focus of this article is how family, parenting, and motherhood are negotiated in media and political discourses. The premise is that these discourses influence social policy and social work practice. In this study 1574 newspaper articles and 251 parliamentary records are investigated by a discourse analysis. Results reveal controversial discourse strands: The »work–life balance issue« is significant in both politics and media, primarily discussed as an issue for mothers, rarely as a couple’s issue, and hardly as a topic concerning fathers. Mothers are expected to be integrated into the labor market due to economic interests but primarily remain mothers. At the same time idealised images of mother-hood persist, although the twofold stress of ideal motherhood alongside work is acknowledged. A stronger integration of fathers in family work is only minimally observed. Economically unattractive care work remains mostly unaddressed, and parenting is not socially situated within the structural con-text. Finally, media and politics strengthen the image of the bourgeois and private family. Parallels can be found in expert discourses on child protection.

'You Are Not Alone, We've Got You': Power Plays, Devotion, and Punishment on Healthy Eating and Pro-Eating Disorder Websites.

Healthy eating (HE) and pro-eating disorder (pro-ED) websites are popular sources of dietary and weight loss information, social support, and lifestyle inspiration. However, the discursive styles and language used by authors/moderators and users of these two site genres have not been widely studied or compared. Forty-three HE websites and twenty-four pro-ED websites were analysed using Fairclough's model of critical discourse analysis. Findings indicate that sites share common characteristics in terms of power relations played out by authors, 'successful' dieters, and those attending these sites. These power plays encourage moral and spiritual commitment to the care of one's body, with authoritative language used to support readers' loyalty and adherence to dietary plans. On HE sites, medicinal properties were attributed to 'clean' or 'pure' foods, whereas pro-ED sites conveyed their importance for weight reduction. Healthy eating sites were largely entrepreneurial, promoting products or themselves. Pro-eating disorder sites typically featured discussions of bodily disgust, the chastisement of others, and self-discipline in the name of 'Ana', such that dieting came to be framed as part of a devotional, often punitive, body project. On both sites, morality discourses were gendered around the thin female body and the 'ideal mother', with occasional praise for muscular male bodies. Our findings indicate how transitioning from healthy eating preoccupations to eating disorders may be facilitated by normalising discussions about restrictive dieting and the shaming of bodies, overseen by self-appointed diet 'experts' and 'buddies' online.

Z historii gatunku antyutopii literackiej. O (nie)oczywistych powinowactwach „My” Jewgienija Zamiatina i „Metropolis” Thei von Harbou

The main aim of the article was to demonstrate the similarities between Yevgeny Zamyatin’s novel We and Thea von Harbou’s Metropolis. The analysis reveals that these similarities are primarily evident in the depiction of space, plot, and character development. Regarding plot structure, female characters assume leading roles in both narratives. The antinomic pairs of women created by Zamyatin and Harbou surprisingly bring the two analyzed novels closer together. O-90 and Maria represent the archetype of the ideal mother ready for great sacrifices, embodying the power of creation. Conversely, I-330 and the false Maria are femme fatales, embodying the power of destruction. They become catalysts for social tensions. In their portrayal of these heroines, Zamyatin and Harbou draw upon Christian and mythological symbolism, creating distinctive images of the Virgin Mary and Lilith. Crucially, within these strongly masculinized worlds, women are the ones who actively initiate changes in their respective realities.

Re-Negotiating Self-Identity: Exploring the Role of Motherhood-Indicative Labels in Constructing Nigerian Mother’s Identity

ABSTRACT Motherhood identities are affected by the life altering experience of childbirth. First-time mothers in Nigeria often experience an identity shift when close relatives consistently refer to them by motherhood-indicative labels. Adapting to these motherhood-indicative labels becomes a cultural requisite for mothers, while navigating the potential struggles of adapting to responsibilities can impact motherhood experiences. This project explores the motherhood experiences of 13 Nigerian mothers who live in Nigeria that have experienced the use of motherhood-indicative labels. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed. Identity Negotiation Theory (INT) was used to analyze how mothers negotiate their self-identity after birth amidst the use of motherhood-indicative labels. Themes and sub-themes discussed include identity (dis)connection (identity integration and dissented labels), embodied motherhood (contorted bodies, and bodies as worksites), and elasticity- negotiating the stretching of self (elasticity of identity, elasticity of skills and constant reminder of loss. The stories of the participants highlight the communication strategies mothers use to adapt to new motherhood identity and how they navigate social relations.

Flanged males have higher reproductive success in a completely wild orangutan population.

Male orangutans (Pongo spp.) exhibit bimaturism, an alternative reproductive tactic, with flanged and unflanged males displaying two distinct morphological and behavioral phenotypes. Flanged males are larger than unflanged males and display secondary sexual characteristics which unflanged males lack. The evolutionary explanation for alternative reproductive tactics in orangutans remains unclear because orangutan paternity studies to date have been from sites with ex-captive orangutans, provisioning via feeding stations and veterinary care, or that lack data on the identity of mothers. Here we demonstrate, using the first long-term paternity data from a site free of these limitations, that alternative reproductive tactics in orangutans are condition-dependent, not frequency-dependent. We found higher reproductive success by flanged males than by unflanged males, a pattern consistent with other Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) paternity studies. Previous paternity studies disagree on the degree of male reproductive skew, but we found low reproductive skew among flanged males. We compare our findings and previous paternity studies from both Bornean and Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) to understand why these differences exist, examining the possible roles of species differences, ecology, and human intervention. Additionally, we use long-term behavioral data to demonstrate that while flanged males can displace unflanged males in association with females, flanged males are unable to keep other males from associating with a female, and thus they are unable to completely mate guard females. Our results demonstrate that alternative reproductive tactics in Bornean orangutans are condition-dependent, supporting the understanding that the flanged male morph is indicative of good condition. Despite intense male-male competition and direct sexual coercion by males, female mate choice is effective in determining reproductive outcomes in this population of wild orangutans.

MOTHERS ON TWITTER (X): EXCHANGING SUPPORT AND NARRATING MOTHERHOOD

As almost all aspects of our lives, motherhood in the 21st century also is influenced and transformed by new media. Parents, especially mothers, use the Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter (X) as digital diaries, as stages for performing an ideal mother’s role, or even “safe spaces” to gain support and the feeling of empowerment. Recent research of motherhood discourses and mothering practices in social media has mainly focused on the evidence of mediation and mediatization. However, limited attention has been brought to examining Twitter in context of mothering. Therefore, this paper focuses on the narratives of a particular cluster of Latvian-speaking mothers on Twitter who use Twitter as a platform for exchanging informational, emotional and physical support, forming a “portable” community. The case study consists of a narrative analysis of 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with mothers and a thematic analysis of 1111 tweets, gathered from 9 other public Twitter accounts (covering a period of 2 weeks), that have been identified by interviewees as part of this particular Twitter-bubble. The paper provides an insight into the narratives of women, voicing their motherhood struggles and victories in the “safe space” of Twitter’s “bubble” of new Latvian mothers, illuminating also a unique and unlikely use for an asymmetric and decentralized social media platform.