Life course theory as a framework to examine becoming a mother of a medically fragile preterm infant

Abstract

Life course theory, a sociological framework, was used to analyze the phenomenon of becoming a mother, with longitudinal narrative data from 34 women who gave birth prematurely after a highrisk pregnancy, and whose infant became medically fragile. Women faced challenges of mistimed birth and mothering a technologically-dependent infant. Before social ties were established, legal and biological ties required mothers to make critical decisions about their infants. Liminality characterized mothers' early involvement with their infants. The mothers worked to know, love, and establish deeper attachments to this baby. The infant's homecoming was a key turning point; it decreased liminality of early mothering, increased mothers' control of infants' care, and gave them time and place to know their infants more intimately. KeywordsAnte/intra partal/post partum care; Attachment/involvement; Birth; Parenting; Parent-child relationships; Pregnancy Nurse scholars frequently borrow theoretical frameworks from other established physical, biological, and social sciences (Munhall, 2007). Although it is important that theoretical foundations distinct to nursing research and practice are developed, the use of extant frameworks from other disciplines may offer unique insights into phenomena of interest to nurses. Life course theory is one such framework. Rooted in sociology, life course theory is congruent with nurses' holistic focus on the lives of individuals and families. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of application of life course theory to the phenomenon of becoming a mother. We describe this phenomenon in women who became mothers after a high-risk pregnancy ended in preterm delivery of an infant who became medically fragile.High-risk pregnancy, a condition in which substantial risks exist to the health of the woman and the fetus, is an important predictor of infant birth outcome (Lobel, DeVincent, Kaminer, & Meyer, 2000). Medically fragile refers to infants with life-threatening chronic illness who are, at least temporarily, technology-dependent, and who have health sequelae requiring extended hospitalization or frequent rehospitalization (Miles, Holditch-Davis, Burchinal, & Nelson, 1999). We first describe the major principles and concepts of life course theory. Then we demonstrate our application of life course theory to this phenomenon. Life Course Framework: PrinciplesPrior to the development of life course theory, social scientists explained human behavior in two ways. First, a social relations approach was used to examine the effects social structures such as marriage and family had on individuals. Subcategories of this approach include functionalism, exchange theory, and ecological systems theory. Second, a temporal approach was used to examine lives that were followed or explained longitudinally . The complexities of lives, however, were not completely captured by these approaches (Giele & Elder); neither alone was adequate to explore the intricate interrelationship between social s...

Experiences of caregivers of infants who have been on bubble continuous positive airway pressure at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi: A descriptive qualitative study

“…This finding is similar to studies done elsewhere that found that mothers of infants cared for in NICUs perceive technological interventions as ensuring survival. 5,26,27 In addition, the caregivers also thought that the experience of having their infants on bCPAP cleared the misconceptions about bCPAP's lethality. The caregivers in this study described the disruption of parent-infant bonding caused by bCPAP treatment and Chatinkha nursery's visiting policy (every 3 hours) as major sources of stress.…”

A life course approach to understanding social drivers of rangeland conversion

“…Research employing the life course framework is diverse, from mother-infant health (e.g., Black et al 2009) to child development (Caspi et al 1988, Cooksey et al 1997) and life course trajectories of criminals (e.g., Sampson and Laub 2005). Other research has looked at the impact of the Great Depression on the lives of children who lived through it at different ages (Elder 1974).…”

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Families and Healthcare Team Interaction Trajectories During Acute Hospitalization

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