Thai Abused Women Living in a shelter: The Process of Becoming a mother
Becoming a mother (BAM) is a period that is challenging for women. Unfortunately, violence directed toward the mother and infant may serve as a barrier to attainment of the maternal role. The purpose of this study was to describe the process of BAM as reported by Thai abused mothers who are living in shelters by using grounded theory methodology. A purposive sampling procedure was employed to recruit Thai abused mothers who lived in four non-profit, charitable shelters in Thailand. A total of 21 participants, who were Thai and between 18 to 33 years of age, had resided in a shelter for two to ten months were interviewed. Four phases were reported: "Preparing to Be a Mother" described the process of BAM, noting that it began outside the shelter during pregnancy. Participant's babies were a main factor that empowered them to get away from their abusive relationship, seek assistance, and prepare for their maternal role. "Struggling to Be a Good Mother", the second theme of the process, reflected personal, environmental, and financial problems experienced and the strategies they used to better cope with their situation. The third theme, "Making Progress", referred to behaviors that promoted a positive maternal role and mother-baby interaction. The final theme, "Being a Good Mother on their Own terms", reflected how they achieved the role of being a good mother. They described that they needed to stand on their own feet, go back into the world, and provide a better life to their baby by placing the baby up for adoption.Results indicated that Thai mothers who lived in shelters were faced with high levels of tension and lived with limited resources. Despite these challenges, they still defined themselves as successful mothers, even if, this definition of being a good mother was different from the idealized mother. Thai policy makers and health care providers should incorporate the findings of this study into social policy and healthcare services for this vulnerable group. Such measures may include: (1) enacting laws which hold fathers at least partially responsible for child support; (2) encouraging services that minimize the stigma such women report; (3) offering more flexibility in terms of when women must participate in shelter activities; (4) ensuring adequate educational or job training programs for women who experience DV; and (5) establishing systems where mothers who place their child up for adoption or foster care are able to maintain a relationship with their infant.
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