Factors Related to Maternal Employment Status Following The Premature Birth of an Infant

Abstract

A sample of 110 two-parent families whose preterm infants were less than 37 weeks gestation, appropriate for gestational age, and free of major congenital anomalies were recruited from two level-III intensive care nurseries. At 3 months postpartum, 40 mothers (36.4%) were employed, 15 (13.6%) stated they were on a leave of absence, and the remaining 55 mothers (50%) were not employed. Although not significantly different on demographic or infant morbidity variables, employed mothers were significantly more employment-oriented and reported less choice and satisfaction with employment status than nonemployed mothers. In addition, employed mothers were employed more hours prenatally and reported prenatal plans to be employed sooner after the infant's birth than nonemployed mothers. Employed mothers also perceived more support from others for their employment and greater financial necessity and availability of child care than nonemployed mothers. Higher scores on employment orientation were correlated with higher maternal education level, fewer children, more hours employed, higher total support for their employment, higher financial necessity, and less choice and satisfaction with employment status.Controversy persists regarding the effect of a mother's employment on the child's development. Studies show that an important intervening variable is the consistency between the mother's desired and actual employment status (Benn, 1986;Farel, 1980;Hock & Clinger, 1980;Hoffman, 1961). However, it is not known how situational variables affect the mother's attitudes toward employment or her employment behavior. Therefore, the effect that situational variables have on the consistency between desired and actual employment status is not clear.One such situational variable, premature birth of an infant, can affect employment consistency in two ways. First, women who, prior to delivery, planned to be employed after the child's birth may feel less free to do so because of their guilt about the child's health status or fear for the child's well-being. In addition, finding adequate alternate care is more difficult when the child has special needs. Second, the financial demands surrounding the preterm birth may necessitate the mother's postnatal employment regardless of what the mother's preference might be.The purpose of this study was to describe differences in demographic, attitudinal, and infant morbidity variables between women who were employed by the time the premature infant was 3 months old and those who were not. In addition, the relationships among demographic, attitudinal, and infant morbidity variables were explored. Although research has explicated the relationship between maternal employment status and demographic, attitudinal, and employment-related variables in families with healthy children, there is little research regarding how these factors operate in families with pre term infants. With increasing rates of premature birth and survival, it is important to understand the effect that prematurity has on mat...

Mother, Child, and Family Factors Related to Employment of Single Mothers With LBW Preschoolers

“…In a sample of mothers with teenagers, Shapiro and Mott (1994) also found that as maternal education increased, the proportion of time employed since becoming a mother and the number of weeks employed in the preceding year increased. In their sample of two-parent families with 3-month-old preterm infants, however, Youngblut, Loveland-Cherry, and Horan (1990) found no differences between employed and nonemployed mothers on maternal age or education.Race has been found to have little independent effect on employment status (Leibowitz et al, 1992), but it has shown an interaction effect with mothers' age and education, and husbands' employment attitudes. Employed, married, African American mothers were younger than employed, married, White mothers; however, African American mothers were younger at the birth of their first child than White mothers (Avioli, 1985).…”

“…Validity of the scale is supported by the finding that employed mothers had higher HEO scores than nonemployed mothers, and the number of hours employed per week was positively correlated with HEO scores (Youngblut et al, 1990). Cronbach's alphas ranged from .80 to .85 in previous studies of families with preterm infants (Youngblut, 1995;Youngblut et al, 1990), and it was .73 in this study.Maternal Employment Attitude-Behavior Consistency-A computed discrepancy score was used to measure consistency. Mothers indicated the number of hours per week they would prefer to work outside the home.…”

Focus on psychometrics single‐item indicators in nursing research

“…and How satisfied are you with your decision?) were used in studying maternal employment issues for mothers with preterm infants (Youngblut, Loveland-Cherry, & Horan, 1990;1993).…”

“…and How satisfied are you with your decision?) were used in studying maternal employment issues for mothers with preterm infants (Youngblut, Loveland-Cherry, & Horan, 1990;1993).Single-item measures have been used frequently in large population surveys such as The quality of American life (Campbell, Converse, & Rodgers, 1976), Social indicators of wellbeing: Americans' perceptions of life quality (Andrews & Withey, 1976), and Functional status and well-being of patients with chronic conditions: Results from the medical outcomes study (Stewart et al, 1989). The use of single-item indicators in clinical research is increasing, especially in the measurement of symptom intensity.…”

Employment Patterns and Timing of Birth in Women With High-Risk Pregnancies

“…Although this finding is limited by missing data, 83% of the women who planned to return to work or school did so. In a sample of mothers of 3-month-old preterm infants, Youngblut, Loveland-Cherry, and Horan (1990) found that intent to be employed was strongly related to employment status. Taken together, these findings indicate that factors other than a high-risk pregnancy influence a woman's employment status after birth.…”