This paper examines how some Swedish parents constructed meanings of parenthood. The parents had completed a state-sponsored parenting programme and were interviewed about their experiences of the programme, their everyday lives, their need for support, ideas about the societal context, and their understandings of 'good' and 'bad' parents. The study was grounded in a discourse-analytical tradition and concepts from discursive psychology guided the analysis. When the interviewees described good parents as responsible and engaged, they related to dominant discourses where middle-class values of involvement and ideals of intensive motherhood intersect. The descriptions of bad parenting were also classed and gendered, representing bad parents as irresponsible and uncaring, as not setting limits, and as not spending enough time with their children. The parents represented themselves in various ways as responsible parents, i.e. an untroubled subject position, but also handled troubled parent positions related to notions of gender and social class.
This article explores the ways in which mothers of extremely premature children make sense of their negative feelings towards their newborn child and their strategies for performing “proper motherhood”. The analysis was guided by discursive psychology and the feminist debate on attachment, mother–infant bonding, and “good motherhood”. The empirical material was created within a sub-study that set out to explore mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of having a premature child and was part of a project investigating the need for support for premature children and their families. Parents were interviewed about the pregnancy, their experiences of the birth and hospital period, the process of going home, the experiences of pre-school and school, and thoughts about the future. The stories of four mothers, which dealt with negative feelings towards their child and the guilt and distress related to this, were selected for analysis. The mothers handled their troubled positions as subjects unable to feel “motherly love” by referring to notions of attachment and bonding, and good motherhood as being loving and caring. Yet, the mothers also talked about motherhood as being socially constructed, as duties that can be performed without the “right motherly feelings”, and as something that men could also perform.
This article analyses and problematises central assumptions in Sweden's National Strategy for Developing Parenting Support, a document that addresses children's deteriorating psychological health. The analysis was performed with Bacchi's (2009) approach to policy analysis. The results show how parental determinism is expressed; psychological ill health among school-aged children is described as an individualised problem caused by insecure parents, who are represented as the most important persons in a child's life and, therefore, are considered to be risk factors that require continuous support. Evidence-based parenting support programmes in particular are described as a central tool for improving parents’ sense of responsibility and parenting skills. While the strategy aims to offer all Swedish parents support, it underlines ideals that have been related to gendered, middle-class notions of parenting. The issue concerning children's psychological health is problematised and discussed in relation to parental determinism, the risk society, equality, equity and psychological health.
Aims and objectives To explore how parents of preterm infants express the constructive aspects of their experiences. Using the notion of post‐traumatic growth as a back‐drop, this study supplements the research on parents' difficulties by providing a more nuanced understanding of what it is like to have a preterm child. Background Researchers have reported that parents feel afraid, worried, helpless, powerless, guilty and stressed, as well as that preterm birth can be associated with physical and psychological ill health among parents; however, a few researchers have found indications of post‐traumatic growth among parents. Design This study includes qualitative interviews and relates to COREQ guidelines for reporting qualitative research. Methods A total of 13 mothers and 10 fathers of extremely preterm children, as well as 11 mothers and 7 fathers of moderately preterm children, were interviewed. The data analysis was based on thematic analysis. Results The analysis resulted in six themes that describe various constructive aspects of having a preterm child: acceptance of the fact that events do not always occur as planned; gratitude and reconsideration of the situation; reappraisal of close relationships; reliance on one's own ability to deal with events; thankfulness for what one has; and openness to being exposed to various kinds of people and their experiences. Conclusions The parents recounted constructive aspects of their experiences such as an altered understanding of themselves, others and life itself. These themes provide a more nuanced way of understanding how parents can relate to having preterm children. Relevance to clinical practice This knowledge can help professionals to enable parents to activate their social network and to acknowledge their care for each other, as well as to help parents see beyond cultural ideals regarding childbirth and family life and to find their own solutions to everyday life.
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