"Motherhood" Identity
Throughout our life cycle, we experience many different developmental stages. Each period has its unique effects on us. If we look closely at these effects, we can see that they occur in biological, psychological, and social areas, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.
It has been observed that developmental periods affect both genders differently and that more risk factors can negatively affect the health of women than men during these periods. When the studies on women's health, both physiologically and psychologically, are broken down periodically, we see that it is during the sexual maturity period when pregnancy and motherhood are experienced.
ON THE WAY TO BECOMING A "FAMILY"
Becoming a mother is one of the most important experiences for a woman because it can completely change her life. Having a baby is generally an experience that evokes various positive emotions such as joy, compassion, and enthusiasm. Often for new parents, the addition of a baby to the family is a source of satisfaction and a strengthening of family ties. On the other hand, the changes, stress, and emotional intensity that come with this new period can also create problems in the family.
The new baby comes into the family with expectations only for the nuclear family. The couple, who previously carried only the roles of husband and wife, now meet the expectations brought by the roles of parents. Whether the individual accepts the roles attributed to the mother by society or resists them, she cannot escape them. Within the mother-infant relationship, society expects that a woman's sphere of responsibility and autonomy after becoming a mother should be filled with her baby, regardless of her feelings and opinions. One of the common themes emerging from Choi and colleagues' (Choi et al., 2005) qualitative study with new mothers is that the advertised image of a happy family has become a compulsory expectation for mothers, increasing their burden during motherhood. For a woman to live up to the ideal supermom model, she must be in harmony with her new life and responsibilities, and experience only positive emotions. In reality, however, this period is not always "rosy" and can be a time of problems and difficulties.
In the postpartum period, the mother and the people around her need to adapt to the changes that come with the arrival of a new life into the world. Research shows that women are more vulnerable to mental illness in the first 12 months after childbirth, especially to unwanted mood changes. Mood disorders in the postpartum period are generally examined under three headings in the literature: maternal blues, postpartum psychosis, and postpartum depression.
MATERNAL IDENTITY
The maternal identity, which begins to form in the woman's mind during pregnancy, continues to mature with the birth of the baby. A review of the psychological literature reveals three basic models that examine the period of motherhood and its impact on women.
1. ACQUIRING THE ROLE OF MOTHERHOOD
According to the "Maternal Role Attainment" (MRA) model conceptualized by Rubin (1967), women first observe the mother figures around them during their pregnancy and thus learn about motherhood. They then identify expert models among the many different figures they observe and begin to imagine themselves as mothers. They envision with what kind of mother figure they will bond and communicate with their baby to be born. In this way, their maternal identity begins to settle during the pregnancy process. After birth, they start to imitate the behaviors of the mothers they take as models and start to acquire their maternal roles. In the process, women first acquire knowledge and imitate what they observe, then seek out expert models, followed by role-playing and imagining themselves as mothers. The mother projects or rejects the behaviors she observes from others inwardly or outwardly, depending on how appropriate they are for her.
2. BEING A MOTHER
Mercer's (2004) "Becoming a Mother" (BAM) model was developed to replace the MRA model due to its shortcomings. The most important criticism of the MRA model is that it is insufficient to explain the process of motherhood as it presents the process as a static state. For this reason, she argues that MRA may also hinder research that treats motherhood as a lifelong process. For this reason, the prominent aspect of the BAM model is that it embraces the dynamic transformation and change in women's identity. The stages in the motherhood transition process defined by Rubin in the MRA model have been revised in the BAM model based on quantitative research and defined with appropriate time intervals:
(i) commitment, attachment, and preparation (pregnancy),
(ii) familiarization, learning, and physical restoration (first 2 to 6 weeks after birth),
(iii) progress towards a new normal (2 weeks to 4 months),
(iv) acquisition of maternal identity (around 4 months).
3. THE BIRTH OF A MOTHER
The "Birth of a Mother" model conceptualized by Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern, Freeland (2013) aims to present the psychology of motherhood in a different framework. Based on decades of clinical observation and hundreds of interviews with new mothers, Stern, and her colleagues defined the process of transformation into motherhood in three steps: (1) preparation for motherhood, (2) psychological birth of the mother, and (3) adaptation to motherhood. Over nine months, as the fetus physically grows in the womb, the imagined baby takes shape in the woman's mind, preparing her to become a mother. After birth, the second stage in the process of becoming a mother begins. During this time, the new mother fulfills her new responsibilities, ensuring the physical survival of the baby and developing a psychologically close relationship. This process ends with the psychological birth of a new maternal identity. According to this definition, the final stage of the transformation to motherhood is adaptation to motherhood. When adaptation to motherhood is achieved, it is seen that the new mother can act without thinking, utilize her instincts, and communicate more intuitively with the baby.
The identity of motherhood, which is one of the roles that women meet in the natural course of life, is not only about bringing a new life into the world. Motherhood is not only about the relationship established with the baby and its physical and spiritual fulfillment but also about a new type of relationship that a woman establishes with her world. The identity of motherhood, which is quite layered in itself, and the perceptions that are formed in our minds only in the form of "having a baby" will only block the way to truly understanding those who experience this experience (even if it is ourselves).
Sources used
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Choi, P., Henshaw, C., Baker, S., & Tree, J. (2005). Supermum, superwife, supereverything: Performing femininity in the transition to motherhood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(2), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646830500129487
Laney, E. K., Hall, M. E. L., Anderson, T. L., & Willingham, M. M. (2015). Becoming a mother: the influence of motherhood on women’s identity development. Identity, 15(2), 126–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2015.1023440
Mercer, R. T. (2004). Becoming a mother versus maternal role attainment. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36(3), 226–232. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2004.04042.x
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