Early Maternal Caregiving: A Conceptualization of Maternal Compassion Preoccupation

Abstract

The literature refers extensively to the ramifications of the mother’s care on her infant. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of maternal caregiving on the emotional experience of the mother herself. Using grounded theory methodology, we sought to contribute to fill this gap, and conducted open indepth interviews with 20 Israeli mothers of infants up to 3 months of age. Three core categories emerged from the interviews: Difficulty, Pleasure and Satisfaction, and Concern for Personal Needs. We found these categories to parallel three theoretical concepts relating to caregivers in general: compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and self-compassion. Consequently, we propose a new inclusive theoretical concept termed Maternal Compassion Preoccupation. The findings and conceptualization can contribute to the theoretical knowledge associated with early maternal caregiving, and to a new perspective on interventions aimed at helping women to cope with the high care demands of early motherhood.

The Maternal Disintegrative Responses Scale (MDRS): Development and initial validation

“…Items for the MDRS were formulated on the basis of statements drawn from a preliminary qualitative study conducted by the researchers that dealt with mothers' early caregiving experiences (Chasson & Taubman – Ben‐Ari, 2020 ), as well as on existing tools relating to dissociative symptoms and intrusive thoughts in general (Trauma Symptom Inventory; Briere et al, 1995 ; Dissociative Experiences Scale; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986 ). This process resulted in a 20‐item scale, which, based on the literature relating to mothers' disintegrative responses (Jacobvitz et al, 2006 ; Main & Hesse, 1990 ), tapped two domains: maternal dissociative experiences (10 items); and maternal intrusive thoughts (10 items).…”

From Danger to Uncertainty: Changing Health Care Practices, Everyday Experiences, and Temporalities in Dealing With COVID-19 Policies in the Netherlands

“…This parenting ideal places high expectations and pressures on mothers to care for their children's physical, emotional, and psychological health (Faircloth, 2014). Chasson and Taubman-Ben-Ari (2020) have pointed to the effects of primary care on the mental states of mothers and on the mental toll of caring for an infant. Mothers deal with difficulties, pleasure and satisfaction, and concern for personal needs, which can be seen as forms of compassion (including fatigue, satisfaction, and self-compassion).…”

“I felt like a bad monster was rising up in me”: Empirical and clinical evidence of maternal disintegrative responses in the context of infant care

“…Approval for the study was granted by the Bar-Ilan University School of Social Work’s Review Board. In Phase 1, which is part of a larger project that deals with mothers’ experience of their devotion to their infant in the postpartum period and some of whose findings have previously been published (Chasson & Taubman – Ben-Ari, 2020), open in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 mothers. The participants were recruited via an invitation posted on social media forums for mothers, asking for women who had given birth in the past 3 months and were willing to be interviewed at home or elsewhere of their choosing.…”