Current literature explores childbirth options and evidence-based approaches for care of an infant such as kangaroo care and breastfeeding, but there is little to no research on women’s birthing experiences and its impact on daily routines. This paper will reveal themes related to postpartum experiences and the impact on occupations for women who have given birth in the last six months. This qualitative study, using a convenience sample, explores a woman’s birthing experience and the influence it has on her postpartum occupations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) listed almost four million births that occurred during 2016 in the United States, showing the large number of the population that was impacted with changes in occupational engagement during their postpartum experience. Implications for occupational therapy practice, and further research will be discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Current literature explores childbirth options and evidence-based approaches for care of an infant such as kangaroo care and breastfeeding, but there is little to no research on women’s birthing experiences and its impact on daily routines. This paper will reveal themes related to postpartum experiences and the impact on occupations for women who have given birth in the last six months. This qualitative study, using a convenience sample, explores a woman’s birthing experience and the influence it has on her postpartum occupations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) listed almost four million births that occurred during 2016 in the United States, showing the large number of the population that was impacted with changes in occupational engagement during their postpartum experience. Implications for occupational therapy practice, and further research will be discussed. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Watkins, Courtney"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z","subjects":["childbirth","occupation","occupational therapy","postpartum","qualitative","Maternal and Child Health"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2019 Courtney Watkins"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/652","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Watkins, Courtney"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["childbirth","occupation","occupational therapy","postpartum","qualitative","Maternal and Child Health"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2019 Courtney Watkins"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/652"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Current literature explores childbirth options and evidence-based approaches for care of an infant such as kangaroo care and breastfeeding, but there is little to no research on women’s birthing experiences and its impact on daily routines. This paper will reveal themes related to postpartum experiences and the impact on occupations for women who have given birth in the last six months. This qualitative study, using a convenience sample, explores a woman’s birthing experience and the influence it has on her postpartum occupations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) listed almost four million births that occurred during 2016 in the United States, showing the large number of the population that was impacted with changes in occupational engagement during their postpartum experience. Implications for occupational therapy practice, and further research will be discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Women's Postpartum Experiences"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Watkins, Courtney"],"dc:description.abstract":["Current literature explores childbirth options and evidence-based approaches for care of an infant such as kangaroo care and breastfeeding, but there is little to no research on women’s birthing experiences and its impact on daily routines. This paper will reveal themes related to postpartum experiences and the impact on occupations for women who have given birth in the last six months. This qualitative study, using a convenience sample, explores a woman’s birthing experience and the influence it has on her postpartum occupations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) listed almost four million births that occurred during 2016 in the United States, showing the large number of the population that was impacted with changes in occupational engagement during their postpartum experience. Implications for occupational therapy practice, and further research will be discussed.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/652"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2019 Courtney Watkins"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["childbirth","occupation","occupational therapy","postpartum","qualitative","Maternal and Child Health"],"dc:title":["Women's Postpartum Experiences"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z"}