Postpartum depressed mothers' experiences interacting with their children. 1996

C T Beck
College of Nursing, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA.

A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the meaning of postpartum depressed mothers' interactions with their infants and older children. A purposive sample of 12 mothers participated. Nine theme clusters emerged when the formulated meaning were organized into categories. Participants were overwhelmed by the responsibilities of caring for their children. Guilt, irrational thinking, loss and anger filled their day-to-day interactions with their children. Mothers went through the motions, acting like robots while caring for their infants. At times, to survive, they erected a wall to separate themselves emotionally from their children and consequently failed to respond to their infants' cues. Detrimental relationships with their older children materialized as mothers were enveloped by postpartum depression.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007389 Internal-External Control Personality construct referring to an individual's perception of the locus of events as determined internally by his or her own behavior versus fate, luck, or external forces. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1996). Locus of Control,External-Internal Control,Sense of Control,Control Locus,Control, External-Internal,Controls, External-Internal,Controls, Internal-External,Internal-External Controls
D009034 Mother-Child Relations Interaction between a mother and child. Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D011644 Puerperal Disorders Disorders or diseases associated with PUERPERIUM, the six-to-eight-week period immediately after PARTURITION in humans. Disorder, Puerperal,Disorders, Puerperal,Puerperal Disorder
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D003674 Defense Mechanisms Unconscious process used by an individual or a group of individuals in order to cope with impulses, feelings or ideas which are not acceptable at their conscious level; various types include reaction formation, projection and self reversal. Mechanisms, Defense
D003866 Depressive Disorder An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent. Depression, Endogenous,Depression, Neurotic,Depression, Unipolar,Depressive Syndrome,Melancholia,Neurosis, Depressive,Unipolar Depression,Depressions, Endogenous,Depressions, Neurotic,Depressions, Unipolar,Depressive Disorders,Depressive Neuroses,Depressive Neurosis,Depressive Syndromes,Disorder, Depressive,Disorders, Depressive,Endogenous Depression,Endogenous Depressions,Melancholias,Neuroses, Depressive,Neurotic Depression,Neurotic Depressions,Syndrome, Depressive,Syndromes, Depressive,Unipolar Depressions
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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