“Not the Romantic, All Happy, Coochy Coo Experience”: A Qualitative Analysis of Interactions on an Irish Parenting Web Site

Abstract

Support groups in online communities provide an anonymous place to exchange information and advice. Previous research has suggested that these groups offer a safe, nonjudgmental forum for new parents to share experiences and interact anonymously. This study investigated how participants in online parenting groups experience support via the Internet and what types of support they receive. All posts made over a 2‐week period on the parenting‐related discussion boards of an Irish parenting Web site were analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Exploratory, semistructured interviews were also conducted with 2 forum participants to discuss their experience of using the Web site. Themes uncovered from the data gathered included the attempts by posters to dispel the myths surrounding motherhood and the recognition of the superiority of the mother as caregiver. The results revealed that the parenting Web site was seen as a safe, supportive space, in which mothers could develop an enhanced frame of reference in which to better understand the role of parenting. The role of online support groups as a viable solution to the decreasing social networks created by modern society is discussed, along with the implications of the findings for future practice and research.

An Australian survey of women's use of pregnancy and parenting apps

“…Previous critical researchers of mothers' blogs and online forums for pregnant women and mothers have contended that such interactions and other site content tend to reproduce dominant notions of 'good motherhood' without offering many alternatives for women 32,33 . Pregnancy apps similarly reproduce limited concepts of female reproduction and embodiment.…”

Digital motherhood

“…Madge and O'Connor also found that new mothers gained reassurance and strength from realizing that others had the same hurdles to overcome [17] and Brady & Guerin found the power of shared experiences in contributing to feelings of normalcy [4]. Access to the Internet and consequently a variety of web services provides the opportunity for new mothers gain strength from these shared experiences.…”

“…Evidence suggests that use of these sites contributed to a high general perception of support (our emphasis) [26], a greater sense of empowerment [27] and seemed to rival the support traditionally found in neighbour communities [4].…”

The mediation of childbirth: ‘Joyful’ birthing and strategies of silencing on a Facebook discussion group

“…There is thus, a broader debate to be had about the words we use to refer to women's/mothers' textual practices on social media. This is reflected to an extent in the title of Brady & Guerin's (2010) work on online parenting discussions where they say these sites are 'not all romantic, all happy, coochy coo'. Rogers ' (2015) terminology of "maternal essayists"…”