The mothering role of African American women has largely been ignored in the literature. Contemporary research on the construct of becoming a mother has focused on upper middle class, White women who are partnered. When African American women are included in research, they are often poor, single, teenage mothers and their experiences have not been described within the context of the African American worldview. Hermeneutic phenomenology from an afrocentric feminist perspective is the methodological approach used in this study to provide insight, analysis, and understanding of the experiences of three generations of African American women in the transition to motherhood. A purposeful sampling of eighteen women from three generations was used to identify information-rich cases that would provide an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. Generation one included seven women, between the ages of 65-83, who became mothers between 1950-1970, prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Generation two included five women, between the ages 51-58, who became mothers between 1971-1990, after the Civil Rights Movement, and there were six women in generation three, between the ages of 30-42, who became mothers between 1991-2003. All of the women in this study described themselves as middle-class; four women were single when they became pregnant with their first child, and education ranged from high school to master’s degree. Three constitutive patterns and their associated themes were identified. The first pattern, It Took Me a Minute, had three themes, Finding Out, Realizing What Mothers Do and Way Tricked! The second pattern, Preserving Our Home had four themes, Mothering Within the –isms: racism, classism and sexism, I Did the Best I Could, Mothers and Others, and Spiritual Mothers. Eat the Meat; Throw Away the Bone, the third pattern had two themes, The Ways in Which We Learn and Someone Who Looks like Me. The results of this study reveal some consistency with current descriptions of maternal identity and maternal role attainment and add to our understanding of the complexities that racism, classism and gender play in the lives of African American mothers and their families. The data from this study also suggests that future development of theoretical frameworks and analytical tools, used to assess the effects of stress and other psychosocial factors on health, need to be grounded in an historic understanding of the African American experience and of the African influence on family and cultural knowledge. Additionally, this study demonstrated the impact that the media, both professional and mass media outlets, has in defining and perpetuating our beliefs and feelings of the ‘good mother/bad mother’ dualism. The description of motherhood for this group of African American women illustrates that motherhood is a source of power and provides significant meaning, satisfaction and respect within the family and the larger community. It also highlighted the communal role that “othermothers” and spiritual mothers have in facilitating the transition to motherhood and providing strong social support.

Submitted by Celso Magalhaes (celsomagalhaes@ufrrj.br) on 2017-09-26T11:46:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Natassia de Melo Gomes.pdf: 1015829 bytes, checksum: 7dfc3815cd656a3e66a54f030aa67f6b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-26T11:46:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Natassia de Melo Gomes.pdf: 1015829 bytes, checksum: 7dfc3815cd656a3e66a54f030aa67f6b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-16 / Consumption plays an important role in the construction of identities and one of the main ways to express and define the members of a group is through the shared consumption symbols. The dress can be understood as a reflection of the identity of the individual to reflect rules and roles that peopleplay in the dynamics of social life. Thus, the consumption of products and services related to clothing in this work is presented in its role to build personal and collective meanings, establish and highlight cultural categories, being the focus of this study, maternal identity. Motherhood, rather than a biological event, is a social phenomenon that carries cultural and ideological pictures, the maternal identity constructed from the time when the woman is seen inserted in the new maternity context that may occur through experiences consumption. During pregnancy, the dress mode is naturally modified by new modifications of the body, making it necessary choices for new clothes. The symbolic consumption and consequently the meanings culturally constituted and assigned to goods has as intrinsic characteristic concern insertion in social groups. In addition, there is also a concern to keep and represent their images and identities to consume products that are consistent with their respective personalities and that could best represent them. In this way, the aim of this study was to analyze how the meanings attributed to clothing assist women in the construction of maternal identity. To achieve this purpose were carried 10 in-depth interviews with women who had become mothers in the last 24 months. The main results showed that the clothes are transmitters of communication and definition of this new identity to the woman, still occurring in the liminal period or just after birth. The choice of clothing in the post-liminal period is ruled on several matters, the most recurrent being the issue of social norms imposed on what is considered an ideal mother and what she should dress. Beyond this social issue, the changes in the body and the body perception of women are seen as an influencer for change of clothes in the post-liminal period. The stripping ritual, which takes place at this stage of the rite of passage, is closely linked to the issue of the body as it characterizes the need that women see in clear meanings attributed to an outfit that used during pregnancy.It can be seen that despite the construction of maternal identity be demarcated at different times as the discovery of pregnancy, purchasing products, the changes of the body or through the birth, it is important to emphasize that only through the daily ritual activities that symbolic changes are reinforced / O consumo desempenha um papel importante na constru??o das identidades e uma das principais formas de se expressar e definir os membros de um grupo ? atrav?s dos s?mbolos de consumo partilhados. O vestu?rio pode ser entendido como um reflexo da identidade do indiv?duo ao refletir regras e pap?is que os indiv?duos desempenham na din?mica da vida social. Assim, o consumo dos produtos e servi?os relacionados ao vestu?rio, neste trabalho, se apresenta em seu papel de construir significados pessoais e coletivos, estabelecer e evidenciar categorias culturais, sendo foco da presente pesquisa, a identidade materna. A maternidade, mais do que um evento biol?gico, constitui um fen?meno social, que carrega imagens culturais e ideol?gicas, sendo a identidade materna constru?da a partir do momento em que a mulher se v? inserida no novo contexto da maternidade, que pode ocorrer atrav?s das experi?ncias de consumo. Durante a gesta??o e ap?s o nascimento do beb?, o modo de se vestir ? naturalmente modificado devido ?s transforma??es do corpo, tornando-se necess?rio as escolhas por novas roupas. O consumo simb?lico das roupas e consequentemente os significados culturalmente constitu?dos e atribu?dos aos bens t?m como caracter?stica intr?nseca a preocupa??o de inser??o em grupos sociais. Al?m disso, existe tamb?m uma preocupa??o em manter e representar as suas imagens ou identidades ao consumir produtos que condizem com as suas respectivas personalidades e que possam melhor represent?-los. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar como os significados atribu?dos ao vestu?rio auxiliam as mulheres na constru??o da identidade materna. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, foram realizadas 10 entrevistas em profundidade com mulheres que se tornaram m?es nos ?ltimos 24 meses. Os principais resultados mostraram que as roupas s?o transmissoras de comunica??o e defini??o desta nova identidade ? mulher, ocorrendo ainda no per?odo liminar ou somente ap?s o nascimento do beb?. A escolha do vestu?rio, no per?odo p?s-liminar, ? pautada em diversas quest?es, sendo a mais recidivante a quest?o da normatiza??o social impostas ao que se considera uma m?e ideal e ao que ela deve vestir. Al?m desta quest?o social, as modifica??es no corpo e a percep??o corporal das mulheres s?o vistas como um influenciador para a mudan?a das roupas no per?odo p?s-liminar. O ritual de despojamento, que ocorre nesta fase do rito de passagem, est? intimamente ligado ? quest?o do corpo, pois caracteriza a necessidade que as mulheres veem em apagar significados atribu?dos a uma roupa que usou durante a gesta??o. Percebeu-se assim que apesar da constru??o da identidade materna ser demarcada em diferentes momentos como o da descoberta da gravidez, da aquisi??o de produtos, das mudan?as do corpo ou atrav?s do parto, ? importante ressaltar que somente atrav?s das atividades rituais di?rias que as mudan?as simb?licas s?o refor?adas

Mulheres em transição para a maternidade por adoção vivenciam as transformações psíquicas e a espera por seus filhos enfrentando as adversidades específicas deste contexto. Com frequência, o período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo é descrito como um momento de preparação para a parentalidade. Nesta etapa, que pode se estender por longos anos, a formação da identidade materna e a significação, através dos sentimentos, do tempo de espera pelo filho adotivo são importantes processos da construção destas famílias. Diante de tais evidências, a presente dissertação dedicou-se a compreender como se dão, no contexto da adoção, as transformações da organização psíquica no sentido de tornar-se mãe e quais são os sentimentos relatados na espera pela adoção em suas diferentes etapas que precedem a colocação da criança na família. Dois artigos compõem esta investigação. As participantes dos estudos foram quatro mulheres, de idades entre 38 e 44 anos, habilitadas e ativas no Cadastro Nacional de Adoção (CNA) há no máximo um ano. No primeiro foi investigado o processo de transformação da organização psíquica das mulheres (motherhood mindset), de acordo com Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern e Freeland (1998), no contexto da maternidade por adoção. Encontrou-se que mulheres em espera pela adoção vivenciam as mudanças próprias da formação da identidade materna, confirmando-se a experiência de gestação psíquica no período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo. Já no segundo estudo, buscou-se compreender quais os sentimentos relatados por mulheres na espera pela adoção durante o processo de habilitação à adoção e durante a espera na fila do CNA. Os resultados apontaram que, na habilitação à adoção, as mulheres destacaram sentimentos como apreensão, frustração, dor e morosidade. Quando na espera na fila do CNA, estas mulheres enfatizaram sentimentos que foram alocados em duas categorias: esperança e desesperança. A análise destes dois estudos contribui para a literatura sobre a espera pela adoção, dando voz as mulheres que vivenciam este processo marcado por transformações psíquicas e comoções de sentimentos. Espera-se que este trabalho auxilie na compreensão da transição para a maternidade por adoção durante a espera pelo filho adotivo, motivando o cuidado com a saúde emocional destas famílias bem como novos trabalhos que se dediquem a esta temática. / Women in transition to adoptive motherhood experience the psychic transformations and the waiting for their children facing the specific adversities of this context. Often, the period that precedes the arrival of the adoptive child is described as a time of preparation for parenting. In this stage, which can last for many years, the development of the maternal identity and the significance of the waiting time are important processes of the construction of these families. In face of these evidences, this thesis is dedicated to understand how the transformations of psychic organization occur in the sense of becoming a mother in the context of adoption and what are the feelings manifested during the different stages of the waiting time that precedes the child`s reception in the family. Two papers compose this research. The participants of these studies were four women, aged between 38 and 44 years, qualified and active in the National Adoption Registry for a maximum of one year. In the first, the process of transformation of the motherhood mindset was investigated in the context of adoption maternity according to Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern and Freeland (1998). It was found that women waiting to adopt a child faced specific changes of the maternal identity development process, confirming the experience of psychic gestation in the period before the arrival of the adoptive child. In the other study, it was sought to understand the feelings in women waiting to adopt during the process of habilitation for adoption and during the waiting period in the National Adoption Registry´s queue. The analysis of these two studies contributes to the existing literature about the adoption waiting process, giving voice to these women who experienced this process marked by psychic transformations and feelings commotions. We hope that this thesis helps in understanding the transition to motherhood through adoption during the waiting period for the adopted child, motivating the attention to emotional health care of these families and the elaboration of new studies dedicated to this subject and the promotion of new studies dedicated to this subject.

Mulheres em transição para a maternidade por adoção vivenciam as transformações psíquicas e a espera por seus filhos enfrentando as adversidades específicas deste contexto. Com frequência, o período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo é descrito como um momento de preparação para a parentalidade. Nesta etapa, que pode se estender por longos anos, a formação da identidade materna e a significação, através dos sentimentos, do tempo de espera pelo filho adotivo são importantes processos da construção destas famílias. Diante de tais evidências, a presente dissertação dedicou-se a compreender como se dão, no contexto da adoção, as transformações da organização psíquica no sentido de tornar-se mãe e quais são os sentimentos relatados na espera pela adoção em suas diferentes etapas que precedem a colocação da criança na família. Dois artigos compõem esta investigação. As participantes dos estudos foram quatro mulheres, de idades entre 38 e 44 anos, habilitadas e ativas no Cadastro Nacional de Adoção (CNA) há no máximo um ano. No primeiro foi investigado o processo de transformação da organização psíquica das mulheres (motherhood mindset), de acordo com Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern e Freeland (1998), no contexto da maternidade por adoção. Encontrou-se que mulheres em espera pela adoção vivenciam as mudanças próprias da formação da identidade materna, confirmando-se a experiência de gestação psíquica no período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo. Já no segundo estudo, buscou-se compreender quais os sentimentos relatados por mulheres na espera pela adoção durante o processo de habilitação à adoção e durante a espera na fila do CNA. Os resultados apontaram que, na habilitação à adoção, as mulheres destacaram sentimentos como apreensão, frustração, dor e morosidade. Quando na espera na fila do CNA, estas mulheres enfatizaram sentimentos que foram alocados em duas categorias: esperança e desesperança. A análise destes dois estudos contribui para a literatura sobre a espera pela adoção, dando voz as mulheres que vivenciam este processo marcado por transformações psíquicas e comoções de sentimentos. Espera-se que este trabalho auxilie na compreensão da transição para a maternidade por adoção durante a espera pelo filho adotivo, motivando o cuidado com a saúde emocional destas famílias bem como novos trabalhos que se dediquem a esta temática. / Women in transition to adoptive motherhood experience the psychic transformations and the waiting for their children facing the specific adversities of this context. Often, the period that precedes the arrival of the adoptive child is described as a time of preparation for parenting. In this stage, which can last for many years, the development of the maternal identity and the significance of the waiting time are important processes of the construction of these families. In face of these evidences, this thesis is dedicated to understand how the transformations of psychic organization occur in the sense of becoming a mother in the context of adoption and what are the feelings manifested during the different stages of the waiting time that precedes the child`s reception in the family. Two papers compose this research. The participants of these studies were four women, aged between 38 and 44 years, qualified and active in the National Adoption Registry for a maximum of one year. In the first, the process of transformation of the motherhood mindset was investigated in the context of adoption maternity according to Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern and Freeland (1998). It was found that women waiting to adopt a child faced specific changes of the maternal identity development process, confirming the experience of psychic gestation in the period before the arrival of the adoptive child. In the other study, it was sought to understand the feelings in women waiting to adopt during the process of habilitation for adoption and during the waiting period in the National Adoption Registry´s queue. The analysis of these two studies contributes to the existing literature about the adoption waiting process, giving voice to these women who experienced this process marked by psychic transformations and feelings commotions. We hope that this thesis helps in understanding the transition to motherhood through adoption during the waiting period for the adopted child, motivating the attention to emotional health care of these families and the elaboration of new studies dedicated to this subject and the promotion of new studies dedicated to this subject.

Mulheres em transição para a maternidade por adoção vivenciam as transformações psíquicas e a espera por seus filhos enfrentando as adversidades específicas deste contexto. Com frequência, o período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo é descrito como um momento de preparação para a parentalidade. Nesta etapa, que pode se estender por longos anos, a formação da identidade materna e a significação, através dos sentimentos, do tempo de espera pelo filho adotivo são importantes processos da construção destas famílias. Diante de tais evidências, a presente dissertação dedicou-se a compreender como se dão, no contexto da adoção, as transformações da organização psíquica no sentido de tornar-se mãe e quais são os sentimentos relatados na espera pela adoção em suas diferentes etapas que precedem a colocação da criança na família. Dois artigos compõem esta investigação. As participantes dos estudos foram quatro mulheres, de idades entre 38 e 44 anos, habilitadas e ativas no Cadastro Nacional de Adoção (CNA) há no máximo um ano. No primeiro foi investigado o processo de transformação da organização psíquica das mulheres (motherhood mindset), de acordo com Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern e Freeland (1998), no contexto da maternidade por adoção. Encontrou-se que mulheres em espera pela adoção vivenciam as mudanças próprias da formação da identidade materna, confirmando-se a experiência de gestação psíquica no período que antecede a chegada do filho adotivo. Já no segundo estudo, buscou-se compreender quais os sentimentos relatados por mulheres na espera pela adoção durante o processo de habilitação à adoção e durante a espera na fila do CNA. Os resultados apontaram que, na habilitação à adoção, as mulheres destacaram sentimentos como apreensão, frustração, dor e morosidade. Quando na espera na fila do CNA, estas mulheres enfatizaram sentimentos que foram alocados em duas categorias: esperança e desesperança. A análise destes dois estudos contribui para a literatura sobre a espera pela adoção, dando voz as mulheres que vivenciam este processo marcado por transformações psíquicas e comoções de sentimentos. Espera-se que este trabalho auxilie na compreensão da transição para a maternidade por adoção durante a espera pelo filho adotivo, motivando o cuidado com a saúde emocional destas famílias bem como novos trabalhos que se dediquem a esta temática. / Women in transition to adoptive motherhood experience the psychic transformations and the waiting for their children facing the specific adversities of this context. Often, the period that precedes the arrival of the adoptive child is described as a time of preparation for parenting. In this stage, which can last for many years, the development of the maternal identity and the significance of the waiting time are important processes of the construction of these families. In face of these evidences, this thesis is dedicated to understand how the transformations of psychic organization occur in the sense of becoming a mother in the context of adoption and what are the feelings manifested during the different stages of the waiting time that precedes the child`s reception in the family. Two papers compose this research. The participants of these studies were four women, aged between 38 and 44 years, qualified and active in the National Adoption Registry for a maximum of one year. In the first, the process of transformation of the motherhood mindset was investigated in the context of adoption maternity according to Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern and Freeland (1998). It was found that women waiting to adopt a child faced specific changes of the maternal identity development process, confirming the experience of psychic gestation in the period before the arrival of the adoptive child. In the other study, it was sought to understand the feelings in women waiting to adopt during the process of habilitation for adoption and during the waiting period in the National Adoption Registry´s queue. The analysis of these two studies contributes to the existing literature about the adoption waiting process, giving voice to these women who experienced this process marked by psychic transformations and feelings commotions. We hope that this thesis helps in understanding the transition to motherhood through adoption during the waiting period for the adopted child, motivating the attention to emotional health care of these families and the elaboration of new studies dedicated to this subject and the promotion of new studies dedicated to this subject.

In Ontario, 1% of women who give birth have their newborn infant apprehended by child protection agencies (~200/year). Hospital-based perinatal nurses are in a unique position to support mothers. However, there is a lack of research examining mothers’ experiences of newborn infant apprehension. The purpose of this study was to explore mothers’ experiences with nurses and other providers when newborn infant apprehension occurs. Doka’s Disenfranchised Grief Framework was used as a lens to help guide the research questions, methods and analysis. Thorne’s Interpretive Descriptive approach was employed. Mothers who had experienced newborn infant apprehension in the last 10 years were recruited from an agency in Ontario. Nine individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted. When analyzing the data, the researchers identified patterns and themes from among the mothers’ varied experiences. The analysis resulted in four themes: Not good enough, I am a mother, I have rights, I live everyday like I’m grieving, and Hope in the face of adversity. The findings illuminated the imbalance of power that mothers face when experiencing newborn infant apprehension, where power and authority rest with health and social service providers. This research study will focus on the findings describing what mothers want - for nurses to be open-minded, non-judgmental, to teach mothers regarding cycles of violence, and to advocate for mothers’ rights. Ultimately, the mothers posited that nurses are well positioned to empower mothers, thereby giving them the opportunity to begin recovery. The findings indicate a need for nurses to provide safe, compassionate, competent, ethical care and inform how perinatal nurses can better support mothers experiencing newborn infant apprehension.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / During the 20th century, production and labor flows across borders have increased the frequency of transnational constituted families. In the past, family configurations across borders were composed primarily of an immigrant male income-producer living apart from women and children who remained in the sending country. In contrast, in recent years more women are also leaving their loved ones behind in order to become their family’s main source of income. In many cases, women even leave their children to be cared for by their relatives. This social phenomenon is now known as transnational motherhood. In the U.S., transnational motherhood has become increasinly common, particulalry among women of Filipino and Latin American origins. The new trends of transnational motherhood, challenge mainstream western ideas about family configuration and in particular, about women’s maternal role. Whereas in Western cultures mothering is generally understood as a practice that involves the physical presence, nurturance and training of children for adulthood, transnational mothers generally choose physical separation in order to better their children material conditions. Consequently, transnational mothers may suffer as a result of social stigma and peer pressure of 'good mothering'. The present study examined the processes of meaning construction that serve to promote and negotiate motherhood identity and stigma management among Mexican mothers who left their children back in their country. In doing so, this study relied on theoretical frameworks about ideology, identity construction, social roles and stigma management.