Immigrant Mothers' Experiences With Child Soothing in Vancouver, Canada: 'I Just Want to Be a Good Mom'.
Michelle E E Bauer, Aygun Ibrahimova, Fahra Rajabali and 1 others
PMID 41431309WHAT IT FOUND
Immigrant mothers described feeling isolated and guilty when unable to soothe their children, often due to pressure to conform to local ideals like breastfeeding or rocking.
Family centres alleviated this isolation by allowing mothers to share experiences and normalise these challenges.
Key findings
01Mothers felt pressure to soothe due to gendered ideals, often experiencing isolation even when husbands were present, because they felt solely responsible for stopping children's distress.
02Mothers experienced 'cultural silencing' and guilt when their soothing practices did not align with local ideals, such as being unable to breastfeed or fearing harm from rocking.
03Access to family centres helped alleviate feelings of isolation and guilt by providing a space to discuss soothing challenges with other mothers and normalise their experiences.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study focused exclusively on mothers, so it does not capture the experiences of fathers or other caregivers. Participants were recruited through family centres and community organisations, which may bias the sample toward mothers already connected to support services. The study was conducted in Vancouver, so findings may not generalise to other regions or cultural contexts. As a qualitative study, it explores experiences and meanings rather than measuring the effectiveness of any intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was part of a larger research project examining perspectives of immigrant parents on preventing traumatic head injuries.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that family centres improve child safety or maternal mental health outcomes. The study describes mothers' subjective experiences of isolation and relief, not the efficacy of any intervention.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →