Responsible Motherhood Research Articles

Islamic Religious Coping, Partner Support and Parenting Stress On Mothers Who Accompany Their Children Study From Home in a Covid-19 Pandemic Situation

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education and family sector is that children are required to study from home (SFH) or online. This condition makes the burden of a mother's responsibility increase because she has to be both a mother and a teacher for her children, where these demands cause mothers to experience parenting stress. This study aims to determine how big the contribution of Islamic religious coping variables and partner support to parenting stress. This study used quantitative research methods with a three-variable correlation research design. The research respondents were 319 mothers in Indonesia with an age range between 26 and 51 years old. The measuring instrument used is Islamic religious coping short-form (IRCS) Raiya (2008), Receipt of Spousal Support Scale (RSSS) from Dorio (2010), and the Parenting Stress Scale (PSS) from Berry and Jones (1995). The research data were analyzed using the SPSS 26 statistical analysis program with multiple linear regression test techniques to answer the research hypothesis. The results showed that there was a significant negative contribution of Islamic religious coping and partner support to parenting stress for mothers who accompanied SFH children in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Decision-making for Risk-reducing Salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) in Southeast Asian BRCA Mutation Carriers With Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study

The uptake of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) in Asian countries is variable despite being the most effective option for ovarian cancer risk reduction in BRCA mutation carriers. Exploration of factors which may impact the RRSO decision-making of BRCA mutation carriers from Malaysia, a developing country in Southeast Asia, was undertaken. In-depth interviews with 28 Malaysian BRCA mutation carriers with a history of breast cancer were conducted in addition to observing their RRSO decision-making consultations in the clinic. The decision-making considerations among the carriers were centered around the overarching theme of "Negotiating cancer risk and womanhood priorities," with the following themes: (1) risk perception, (2) self-preservation, (3) motherhood obligation, and (4) the preciousness of marriage. Cognitive knowledge of BRCA risk was often conceptualized based on personal and family history of cancer, personal beliefs, and faith. Many women reported fears that RRSO would affect them physically and emotionally, worrying about the post-surgical impact on their motherhood responsibilities. Nevertheless, some reported feeling obliged to choose RRSO for the sake of their children. For some, their husband's support and approval were critical, with emotional well-being and sexuality reportedly perceived as important to sustaining married life. Despite reporting hesitancy toward RRSO, women's decisions about choosing this option evolved as their priorities changed at different stages of life. Recognizing during clinic encounters with Malaysian women that RRSO decision-making involves negotiating the likelihood of developing cancer with the societal priorities of being a woman, mother, and wife may serve to support their decision-making.

Self-Assessment and Expectations of Mothers’ Communication With Adolescents on Sexuality Issues

This article reviews survey data obtained through anonymous questionnaires of 779 mothers on the website apklausa.lt. on their perceptions, emotional well-being, and expectations of communication with adolescents on sexuality issues. The majority of the survey participants think that they can talk openly with their daughters and sons on various topics of sexuality(about emotional changes in adolescence, friendship and love to a person of a different gender, violence, abuse recognition and help, family importance to the individual and society, gender equality, equality of roles of men and women, etc.). Mothers, who have higher education degrees, are more likely to interact with their children about sexual orientation and gender stereotypes created by the media, mass culture, and advertising regarding body appearance and their impact on a person’s self-perception. The survey results showed that almost all mothers who participated in the survey (93.6%) perceived conversations with their children on sexuality / sexual relations topics as their responsibility i.e. associated with responsible motherhood, but 64.1% of mothers indicated that they felt uncomfortable, 51.8% of them felt disturbed and 65.9% – ashamed. Mothers hope that interviews with adolescents can help protect adolescents from risky sexual behaviour (63.4% of mothers expect that their daughter / son will not have sex in adolescence; 76.6% expect that adolescents are less likely to become pregnant and 72.5% mothers note that the child will be more resistant to peer pressure to have sex).

Challenges, Coping Mechanisms and the Support Accorded to Student-mothers in Academic Pursuit: A Case Study of Egerton University, Nakuru County

Education is an important aspect in development as it strengthens nations and empowers people thus making it critical to Kenya’s attainment of Vision 2030. Education benefits society, communities, and individuals across the globe. Today, there is a high number of student mothers in institutions of higher learning whereby the demands in academic pursuit conflicts with motherhood responsibilities thus affecting their academic performance. Despite the existence of guidelines and policies on return to school, student mothers continue to face challenges in pursuit for education. The aim of this study was to examine determinants of schooling challenges, coping mechanisms and the support accorded to student mothers in their pursuit for higher education. The study adopted role conflict theory. A cross-sectional survey research design was used for this study. The study population was 360 student mothers. Simple random sampling procedure was used to obtain a sample size of 101 respondents. The data was collected using interview schedules and semi structured questionnaires. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the study findings, 80% of the respondents reported that economic challenge was a hindrance to academic performance. The findings indicated that 92% of the respondents had time management hurdle with respect to lecture attendance, co- curricular activities, childcare responsibilities, and domestic chores, academic trips, taking the child to clinic, assignments submission, academic group discussions and academic trainings. About 96% of respondents agreed that they received family support to meet day to day expenses while learning. From the study findings this study proposes the loan award criteria by HELB should be revised to incorporate student mothers as special group of loan applicants. Greater institutional and family support should be encouraged in order to strengthen positive coping mechanisms by student mothers in dealing with unavailability of adequate financial and family support.

When abortion becomes public - Everyday politics of reproduction in rural Zambia.

This article takes the public reaction to the discovery of an aborted foetus in a rural Zambian community as the empirical starting point for exploring the everyday politics of reproduction. It builds on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork on abortion and abortion policy in Zambia in 2017 and 2018, including participant observation in the community where the episode took place and interviews with clinic staff and neighbours. The article explores local dynamics of abortion opposition in a country where abortion is legally permitted on broad grounds. By analysing this case as an anthropological event, it discusses how opposition to abortion is dynamic and changes depending on the situation at hand. While abortions that avoid public attention may be silently tolerated, abortions that become openly known are harshly condemned. Through scrutiny of a specific case of collective moral judgement of abortion, the article examines how values like responsible motherhood, sexual virtue and protection of life emerge and are shared, allowing participants to protect and accumulate their own integrity in a moral economy that forges stronger social ties within the community. The article argues that even the harshest expressions of opposition to abortion may not be as categorical as they first appear. It calls for increased attention to dynamics of moral and political opposition to abortion to understand what is socially at stake for those who engage in it.

Displaying morally responsible motherhood: lone mothers accounting for work during non-standard hours

This study examined how lone mothers rationalise their work during non-standard hours (e.g., evenings and weekends), which they perceive as problematic in terms of child wellbeing, and thereby as violating the culturally shared moral order of ‘good’ motherhood. The data comprise interviews with 16 Finnish lone mothers, analysed as accounts, with a special focus on their linguistic features. The mothers displayed morally responsible motherhood through: (1) excusing work during non-standard hours as an external demand; (2) appealing to an inability to act according to good mothering ideals; (3) using adaptive strategies to protect child wellbeing; and (4) challenging the idea of risk. Our findings indicate that the moral terrain lone mothers must navigate is shaped by the ways in which their family situation contravenes powerful ideologies around good mothering, while their efforts to resist the ensuing stigma are constrained by the need to engage in work during non-standard hours.

Expressing breastmilk while on break and in private: a qualitative study of Malaysian first-time mothers

ABSTRACT Employment and breastfeeding among first-time mothers in Malaysia remain problematic, due, in part, to the lack of clear policies and policy implementation. This article, based on a phenomenological study utilising dyadic interviews with eight participants and twelve interviews, explores the experience of Malaysian first-time parents managing both breastfeeding and employment. The findings illustrate that although breastfeeding is considered a mother's responsibility and is regarded as the preferred and superior form of infant feeding, there is often no designated time or space for expressing milk, causing many participants to use their lunch or tea breaks for this purpose. While study participants describe themselves as feeling supported by their partners, families, colleagues, and workplace superiors to breastfeed at work, they must nonetheless manage the perceived contradiction between the lactating body and the ‘male working body’. For these participants, this entails deftly negotiating the demands of being a good mother with a successful performance of the good worker role. Future research implications include a focus on identifying the roles and possible roles of fathers in infant feeding, and guidelines around monitoring breastfeeding breaks and spaces for mothers at work.

Acting Their Age? An Intersectional Approach on Young Motherhood From Young Mothers’ Perspectives

This article challenges the assumptions in social policy and practice of how the combination of youth and motherhood is problematic and morally wrong. Using an intersectional approach, this study uncovers how young mothers’ social categories of youth and motherhood collide, concur with, or reinforce each other. The research question is the following: What are young mothers’ perceptions and practices of youth when combining youth with motherhood? The research methods include 18 months of participant observation and 41 semi-structured interviews with young mothers in the Netherlands. Analysis shows that young motherhood should not be conflated with problematic motherhood. Young mothers position themselves as “new” parents, single mothers, and working parents. Their motherhood practices illustrate adherence to an ideology of child-centered, omnipresent, and responsible motherhood. They might not be good girls, but they show they are good mothers. Young mothers navigate intersecting dimensions of youth, age, motherhood, and gender through (1) discontinuing youth practices, (2) alternating between motherhood and youthfulness, (3) transforming youth practices into young motherhood practices, and (4) reinforcing youth through young motherhood. Professionals can use the strengths of these practices more to the advantage of the youth to provide support that is tailored to clients’ needs.

Cloaking the Pregnancy: Scientific Uncertainty and Gendered Burden among Middle-class Mothers in Urban China

In this article, I use radiation-shielding maternity clothes (cloak) as a window to explore motherhood and reproductive uncertainty in urban China. By engaging with literature on scientific uncertainty and intensive mothering, I argue that the scientific uncertainty over the possible negative impact of electromagnetic radiation (EMF) on pregnancy has led to a situation in which uncertainty is being socially reproduced by experts, markets, and policy makers through different media channels. Middle-class mothers do not fully believe that the cloak is scientifically trustworthy. But under the influence of social networks and the ambient awareness of the reproductive crisis related to environmental pollution and the pressures of modern life, middle-class mothers still choose to wear the clothes for a variable period of pregnancy for psychological feelings of safety. In the end, they choose to cloak their pregnancies (to perform responsible motherhood) but immediately claim their suspicions of the cloak (to perform their scientific knowledge).

Institutional embeddedness of mumpreneurship in the UK: A career narrative approach

The recent rise in the number of mothers who have started a business from home along with an increase in publicly available profiles of these women has led to the trend of mumpreneurship, i.e., women who set up and manage a business around their child caring role. This research employs a career narrative approach to examine the stories told by a group of 12 British mumpreneurs within the context of UK’s regulatory institutions. The findings suggest that despite having dual responsibility of motherhood and business ownership, mumpreneurs work hard to achieve their aspirations and career objectives. However, their ability to do so is severely constrained by the institutional support, more specifically in terms of child-care provisions and training and financial support.

Performativity as cultural brokerage: An ethnographic exploration of the experiences of faculty mothers at an international university in Kazakhstan

In this ethnographic study, I explore the experiences of academic mothers who are international faculty in a highly internationalized residential university without tenure in Kazakhstan. Using participant observations, interviews, and auto-ethnography, I analyze how international female faculty perform their work and function within their family roles in the context of ambiguous overlapping cultural norms about gender roles and motherhood responsibilities. This study reveals that the participants could successfully combine and simultaneously enjoy their work and family lives. Moreover, these women could shape the emerging organizational culture of this relatively new higher educational institution in ways that are supportive of female faculty and student mothers. I use the cultural brokerage theory to explain the agentic capacity of female faculty and the way in which the theory may extend the previously used feminist performativity theory as a lens through which to investigate the transformative capacity of women on non-Western campuses.

Care drain and substitute mothering in women’s documentary film: Towards a transnational family model?

This article reads Teodora Ana Mihai’s documentary Waiting for August in the light of recent documentaries focusing on migration, such as Maid in America (2004) and Children in No Man’s Land (2008) by Anayansi Prado, as an approach to a particular form of social violence whose victims are children or teenagers who grow up without immediate adult care across the contemporary global world. I analyse these documentaries by women filmmakers, focusing on the transfer of care from mothers to elder sisters as a result of women’s economic transnational migration. I argue that they promote a model of self-sustaining, responsible motherhood based on women’s strong claim to a life of dignity and self-determination, as opposed to compromising solutions that have long been tolerated and even encouraged by patriarchal societal and political structures.

Mothers in academic pharmacy

IntroductionThe proportion of women pharmacists has been rapidly increasing for many years, from 43.3% of licensed pharmacists in 2000 to 52.7% in 2014. Yet women may be less likely to consider certain positions in pharmacy due to concerns of balancing work and motherhood responsibilities. The terms “motherhood penalty” and “baby penalty” have been used to describe the consequences of child-bearing responsibilities on the careers of women, including academic pharmacy. Many workplaces have established interventions to address the motherhood and baby penalties, including policies such as extended child-bearing leave and better childcare options. Commentary and implicationsHowever, there is still much understanding and improvement needed from the pharmacy academy administration to elicit a true change in culture. How can we create this culture shift? This article emphasizes a call to action to address this need for change.

Дорогие дети, бедные матери

Новая книга Анны Шадриной «Дорогие дети. Сокращение рождаемости и рост «цены» материнства в XXI веке», опубликованная издательством «Новое литературное обозрение» в мае 2018 г. была награждена премией «ЛибМиссия» в номинации «Аналитика». Эта книга не является строго научной, академической, хотя базируется на большом теоретическом материале, автор хорошо знакома с научной литературой. Она не является и публицистической, хотя может быть интересна широкому кругу читателей. Как и в своей предыдущей книге, Анна Шадрина пытается осмыслить свой личный опыт: на этот раз сложных отношений с матерью и рефлексию по поводу того, хочет ли она сама стать матерью. В рецензии анализируются основные идеи автора книги по поводу того, насколько в современном мире высоки требования к матерям, как они переживают это давление, как понимается сегодня понятие «ответственного материнства». При этом большое внимание уделяется описанию соотношения биологического и социального в материнстве. Кроме научной литературы автор книги использует метод самонаблюдения, она подробно иллюстрирует свои соображения, базируясь на художественных фильмах, сериалах, художественной литературе. Не все главы книги представляются одинаково убедительными, тем не менее, «Дорогие дети» представляют существенный интерес для социологов, психологов, демографов, специалистов в области гендерных исследований.

La fortuna de la precariedad

La posibilidad de contar con una beca predoctoral para dedicarse en exclusividad a la elaboración de una tesis doctoral fue en su momento un indicador de éxito presente y futuro en la carrera académica profesional en España. En este artículo expondré mi experiencia personal y profesional relacionada con la obtención de esta beca y los avatares posteriores después de doctorarme por una universidad española, en plena crisis económica en este país. A partir de este momento, entré en una espiral de precariedades que en mi entorno laboral son naturalizadas como los pasos previos para una estabilización profesional; y que sumadas a las demandas de una maternidad y crianza comprometida y responsable complicaron aún más mi situación laboral. A partir de esta experiencia analizaré cómo la precariedad en la academia tiene una relación directa con lo que denomino acade(mono)rmatividades.

MOTHERS IN WAR: “RESPONSIBLE MOTHERING,” CHILDREN, AND THE PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE IN TWENTIETH‐CENTURY WAR

ABSTRACTThe key concern of this article is to explore how the history of twentieth‐century violence forces us to reflect on how we interpret the acts of those who find themselves attempting to prevent violence, as mothers have done in relation to their children, in the context of violence and atrocity. A focus on mothers and maternity redirects our analysis to gendered aspects of a history of violence and war that do not concentrate solely on bodily violent acts or physical inflictions upon women—crucial as these remain to histories of violence—but shifts the attention to examining women and violence within another aspect: that of women as active agents negotiating violent contexts. It builds on the considerable scholarship that argues that mothers in war have invariably been represented only as victims or spectators in war, and yet they have also demonstrated agency both individually and collectively. This is significant because to ignore this dimension of scholarly endeavor misses an opportunity to write women into histories of violence in ways that complicate their role in war and make them central to the story. To marginalize mothers in the broader canvas of war and violence, as scholarship often does, is also to narrow our focus of understandings of agency and the negotiation of violence itself. I explore these wider questions by focusing on the cataclysmic events of war, in the first instance in the context of a total war in the early twentieth century, the First World War, and in the second—the Greek Civil War—a civil war that took place in mid‐century. Although these are vastly different conflicts, they both illuminate the decisions of mothers to attempt to prevent further violence in war, especially in relation to their children, and to highlight the contested notion of “responsible motherhood” in war.

Exploring practices and perceptions of alcohol use during pregnancy in England and Sweden through a cross-cultural lens.

Qualitative studies have aimed to understand why some women continue to drink during pregnancy; however, there is a lack of comparative cross-cultural research. We aimed to explore perceptions and practices of alcohol use during pregnancy in England and Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 parents in Merseyside, England and 22 parents in Örebro County, Sweden. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The majority of women in both countries abstained from alcohol when they found out they were pregnant, despite alcohol being part of many social contexts before pregnancy. Nine of the seventeen English women drank at some point during pregnancy, typically on special occasions. Most parents felt women should modify their alcohol intake when they become mothers, though several English parents argued that responsible motherhood did not necessarily equate to abstinence. Swedish parents held strong opinions against drinking during pregnancy and argued that any amount of alcohol could harm the foetus. English parents' opinions were divided; some were skeptical of whether low to moderate drinking was associated with risks. Practices and attitudes towards alcohol use during pregnancy and views on foetal rights and responsibilities of pregnant women differed in England and Sweden. Shared social norms around drinking may be shaped within the policy context of pregnancy drinking guidelines, determining whether women consume alcohol or not.

The knowledge of women with epilepsy on motherhood/ Wiedza kobiet chorych na padaczkę na temat macierzyństwa

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions. Approximately half of the 50 million suffering from epilepsy are women. Although the pregnancy in the course of epilepsy is considered a high risk pregnancy, based on many observations, it is estimated that the chance of delivering a healthy child by a woman with epilepsy exceeds 90%. However, the risk of congenital defects is 2-3 times higher than in healthy women. It is mostly caused by antiepileptic drugs. Material and methods: The study was conducted on 139 women with epilepsy, aging 18-40 years, who were under supervision of the neurology clinic in the Silesia voivodeship. The studies were conducted using the survey elaborated by the authors for women in reproductive age with epilepsy, based on the questionnaire published by Polish Center of Epilepsy for Women. Results: Most of the surveyed women have had epilepsy for longer than 10 years (52.52%). The smallest number of women has been suffering from epilepsy for less than a year (7.19%) A majority of respondents were treated with monotherapy (51.8%). Almost half of the respondents did not have a child (57.55%). According to 76.26% of respondents epilepsy is not a contraindication for having children. A statistically significant correlation was demonstrated (p = 0.0479) between education and the desire to get information about contraception and its impact on epilepsy. Conclusions: 1/3 of interviewed women with epilepsy has insufficient knowledge of responsible motherhood and it concerns mostly women with the lowest level of education. Most women suffering from epilepsy become interested in issues related with motherhood only after they become pregnant whereas, women with at least secondary education are more interested in issues of procreation and responsible motherhood.

DETERMINANTS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR WORKING MOTHERS

Despite the growing prominence in the work force, working mothers are still found to be juggling hard between work and family responsibilities with their increasing share of dilemmas and disparities. The paper studies the determinants of work life balance of working mothers and the potential sources of stress specific to working mothers and their consequences. The study addresses the main research objective which was to find out solutions to ease the dilemma that a working mother encounters while dividing her energy and capabilities between parenting, work, relationships and self. The survey was conducted in the city of Allahabad and 100 working mothers were surveyed on a structured questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze the data with the help of statistical tools like frequency, cross tabulation, chi square and Z test. The major findings of the survey highlighted that working mothers are mostly stressed with their primary responsibility of motherhood to the extent of forgetting one’s own well-being and physical health. The study recommends significant ways to balance work and family and achieve the most desired contentment of a working mother. The study reassures working mothers by reinventing, evolving and transitioning positively through the trials of working motherhood with knowledge, practice, strength and fulfillment. The modern work environment needs to reconsider the special needs of this working population, changing its orientation from male dominance to gender neutrality and parenting friendly behavior. Last but not the least, the family as a whole, needs to adjust accordingly, to the needs of the working mother so as to allow a healthier family to develop and grow consistently.

Promoting healthy eating and active playtime by connecting to nature families with preschool children: evaluation of pilot study "Play&Grow".

This pilot project aimed to evaluate the "Play&Grow" program which promotes age-appropriate dietary habits and playtime healthy routines through "connectedness to nature" experiences in Hong Kong families with young children. Thirty-eight preschoolers (aged 33.97 ± 9.38 mo), mothers, and their domestic workers were recruited. The families attended one workshop/week for a 4-mo period, consisting of: (i) health topic; (ii) food games; (iii) nature-related outdoor activities. Feeding practices, particularly Promoting and Encouragement to eat (PE) and Instrumental Feeding (IF) improved after the intervention (P = 0.008 and P = 0.016, respectively). Mother's BMI, responsibility for child's meal, child's birth weight had a bearing on the improvement of PE, r2 = 0.243, F(3,33) = 3.54, P = 0.025. Domestic helper's responsibility for child's cooking and her IF practices could predict child's picky eating (r2 = 0.203, F(2,34) = 4.322, P = 0.021). Mother's responsibility for child and helper's responsibility for cooking could predict child's consumption of salty foods (r2 = 0.252, F(2,34) = 5.737, P = 0.007). Physical activity of caregivers improved after the intervention. The pilot confirmed the design, protocols, evaluation instruments, and logistics of the study. Modified "Play&Grow" intervention will be conducted in a more rigorous randomized controlled trial to determine the long-term impact on obesity prevention in Hong Kong.