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Engaged Mothering: The Transition to Motherhood for a Group of African American Women

University of California, San Francisco

Using grounded theory methodology, 17 first-time African American mothers were interviewed to elicit their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood. Participants had a mean age of 30 years, were mostly married, employed, middle income, college educated, and all received adequate prenatal care. Engaged Mothering was identified as the core category, denoting the active, involved, and mutual process in which a woman prepares to be a mother, cares for herself and her infant, and dreams about and plans for the future to have a good life for her child. Strategies women used in this process included getting ready, dealing with the reality, settling in, and dreaming. Conditions of intentionality of the pregnancy and prior history of miscarriage or health problems of the mother affected the process. Women described the effects of racism on their daily lives and on the criteria they used to choose providers. Nursing interventions are proposed based on these results.

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