ABSTRACT

During the postpartum period, the bond with the infant is starting to take shape, as the emotional world of the mother is being formed by the bodily experiences. The current study uses the mother’s point of view to describe how psycho-physical experiences shape the process of becoming a mother. A qualitative-phenomenological approach was taken, and 12 first-time mothers were documented through a semi-constructed interview, and a recall interview. Results indicated, referring to the beginning of motherhood, that: (1) bodily sensations have powerful and surprising meanings for mothers, (2) physical identification with the infant constitutes a platform for awareness about the infant, and (3) conflicting bodily experiences stimulate difficulty and joy simultaneously. The findings deepen the understanding of the way bodily experiences shape the satisfaction from being a parent. The importance of the mother awareness to physical processes and to the connection between them and mental processes is discussed.

摘要

在产后期间，由于身体经验正在形成母亲的情感世界，因此与婴儿的联系开始形成。当前的研究使用母亲的观点来描述心理-身体经历如何塑造成为母亲的过程。采用定性现象学的方法，通过半结构式访谈和回忆式访谈记录了12名初生母亲的情况。结果表明，关于孕产的开始：（1）身体感觉对母亲具有强大而令人惊讶的意义；（2）与婴儿的身体认同构成了对婴儿的认识的平台，以及（3）相互冲突的身体经历刺激困难和欢乐同时发生。这些发现加深了人们对身体经历如何影响成为父母的满意度的理解。讨论了母亲意识对身体过程及其与心理过程之间联系的重要性。