Resilience and post-traumatic growth in the transition to motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploratory study.
Gill Thomson, Julie Cook, Rebecca Nowland and 4 others
PMID 35621069WHAT IT FOUND
Postnatal women described leaning on partners, family and neighbours, keeping busy, and reframing restrictions as family time.
They also reported new interests and closer relationships. This describes coping, not tested maternity support.
Key findings
01Social support was described as important by all but one woman, despite restrictions.
02Most women used active coping, such as keeping busy, getting outdoors, mindfulness, or avoiding pandemic news.
03Over half described new activities or interests and closer or new relationships with others.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 20 women were interviewed, and they were mostly in higher occupational groups, so the themes may not represent mothers with fewer resources or less access to outdoor space. The study was qualitative and exploratory. It describes coping and growth themes, not effects of any intervention. Interviews happened when restrictions were eased, not during the strictest lockdown, and the women had infants aged 5 to 17.5 weeks. Resilience and growth were interpreted after the fact from general questions, so the frameworks may not match how the women understood their own experiences. The paper focused on positive themes and did not report the negative experiences or mental health symptoms in detail.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding was from the University of Central Lancashire.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that social support, self-care, or digital contact improved maternal mental health. This was a small qualitative study of selected, mostly professionally employed mothers, and it did not test an intervention or compare outcomes.