Maternal Guilt: An Existential Phenomenological Study of the Early Experiences of First-Time Mothers

The present study is an existential phenomenological investigation of the experiences of maternal guilt of five first-time mothers with infant children. Maternal guilt is a powerful, pervasive, and complex phenomenon that effects and is experienced by mothers in different ways. This research explores the experiences of these five mothers in feeling guilt related to being a mother and, using an adapted research methodology utilizing Focusing Technique (Gendlin, 1981), their embodied reflections about a particular memory of feeling maternal guilt. This study utilizes procedures explicated by Colaizzi (1978), Giorgi & Giorgi (2003), Todres (2007), von Eckartsberg (1998), Walsh (1995; 2004) and Wertz (1984). All participants provided data via a written account of a particular memory of feeling a sense of guilt related to being a mother, an individual interview which incorporated a modified Focusing component, and written and verbal feedback related to the write-up of the provisional thematic analysis of the interview. The interpreted analyses of the five interviews indicate seven formulated themes; physical and emotional connection to their babies, intense feelings of responsibility, feelings of being divided, multi-dimensionality of guilt with other emotions, pre-verbal miscommunication, anxiety over the unknown in the beginning, and social expectations and comparisons. The findings suggest that the process of embodied reflection regarding a new mother's emotional experiences of guilt can foster important awareness for how she can care for her own and her child's needs. Relationships between contemporary cultural discourses on motherhood and philosophical interpretations of guilt are discussed. Implications for creating networks of support and community for new parents are also explored.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Immediate Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Clinical Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• LeBeau, Claire S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Eva Simms
• Will Adams
• Russell Walsh

• Embodied research
• Ethics
• First-time mothers
• Focusing technique
• Maternal guilt
• Phenomenological

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/808

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dsc.duq.edu:etd-1824