Transition of working women to motherhood

• Main Author: Esquivel-Saldivar, Ma Cristina R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2003
• Subjects: Women employees; Motherhood > Psychological aspects; Change (Psychology); Counseling Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/10; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_doctoral/article/1009/viewcontent/CDTG003572_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study dealt with the transition of working women to motherhood. The transition of Filipino working women to motherhood was analyzed through Hopson's (1976) Phases and Features of the Transition Cycle. Participants were 30 first-time mothers referred by Well-Baby Clinics. The mothers were grouped according to the Phases of Hopson's (1976) Transition Cycle. Provisional Adjustment Group consists of 5 mothers whose babies are from newborn to 3 months old. Inner Contradictions/Crisis Group were 5 mothers with babies from 4 to 6 months old. And the Reconstruction/Recovery Group consists of 20 mothers whose babies were from 7 months to 1 year old. Findings revealed that the features of the transition cycle also applies in motherhood, but that it happens earlier than the phases mentioned above. Compared to the theoretical framework, uncertainty, losing confidence, confusion and depression features occur during the Provisional Adjustment Phase of mothers and not during the Inner Contradictions/Crisis Phase. Another major finding is that mothers go through this uncertainty... feature due to the experience of loss of autonomous self following the birth of the baby (Nicholson, 1999). An integration of the new mother role to the old, autonomous self is recommended to ease the negative adjustments of the respondents in their transition to motherhood.