The Role of Informal Childcare in Mothers’ Experiences of Care and Employment: A Qualitative Lifecourse Analysis

Brady, Michelle

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-63295-7_11

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Grandparents in particular can influence the development and well-being of their grandchildren by providing practical and emotional support to both them and their parents (Ruiz and Silverstein 2007;Attar-Schwartz et al 2009;Jappens and Van Bavel 2019). At the same time, lone mothers' reliance on childcare support from families is more vulnerable to changes in circumstances (such as grandparents' illnesses), with implications for their ability to sustain employment (Scott, London, and Hurst 2005;Millar and Ridge 2009;Brady 2018). Further, informal care provided by relatives has been shown to be less beneficial for the outcomes of children from more disadvantaged backgrounds than formal centre-based care (Gregg et al 2005;Bernal and Keane 2011;Del Boca, Piazzalunga, and Pronzato 2014).…”

Section: Employment and Child Well-being In Lone-mother Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

Fiori¹

2020

DemRes

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Section: Employment and Child Well-being In Lone-mother Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

Fiori¹

2020

DemRes

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“…The provision of good quality, accessible, public childcare services is a key policy intervention which has the potential to improve the productivity and incomes of informally working women [22]. In addition, a exible system is required that enables parents to choose a mix between formal and informal care should they prefer [41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

 ‘I Can No Longer Do My Work Like How I Used To’: A Qualitative Longitudinal Cohort Study Exploring How Informal Working Mothers Balance The Requirements Of Livelihood And Safe Childcare In South Africa. 

Horwood

Hinton²,

Haskins

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Returning to work after childbirth is challenging for working mothers. The quality of childcare may have lifelong effects on children’s health, development and cognitive function. Over 60% of working women globally are informal workers without employment or maternity protections, but little is known about how these women care for their children. Methods: We conducted a mixed methods longitudinal cohort study among informal women workers in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa between July 2018 and August 2019. Participants were followed up from late pregnancy until they had returned to work. We conducted structured quantitative interviews and in-depth qualitative interviews before and after the baby was born, and after returning to work. We then brought groups of participants together for a photovoice activity to explore the childcare environment. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data in NVIVO v12.4 and SPSSv26 was employed to analyse quantitative data. Results: Women returned to work soon after the baby was born, often earlier than planned, because of financial responsibilities to provide for the household and the new baby. Women had limited childcare choices and most preferred to leave their babies with family members at home, as the most convenient, low cost option. Otherwise, mothers chose paid carers or formal childcare. However, formal childcare was reported to be poor quality, unaffordable and not suited to needs of informal workers. Mothers expressed concern about carers’ reliability and the safety of the childcare environment. Flexibility of informal work allowed some mothers to adapt their work to care for their child themselves, but others were unable to arrange consistent childcare, sometimes leaving the child with unsuitable carers to avoid losing paid work. Mothers were frequently anxious about leaving the child but felt they had no choice as they needed to work. Conclusion: Mothers in informal work had limited childcare options and children were exposed to unsafe, poor-quality care. Maternity protection for informal workers would support these mothers to stay home longer to care for themselves, their family and their baby. Provision of good quality, affordable childcare would provide stability for mothers and give these vulnerable children the opportunity to thrive.

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“…Similar toother research efforts showing how balancing employment with childcare helps lone parenting in single mothers, the current study also demonstrated higher psychological well-being and adjustment levels of employed single mothers. However, maternal employment has a positive effect up to an extent, as workload and job stress can exacerbate the situation when thesingle parents struggle to manage quality time at home 14 .…”

Section: S80mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Well Being and Adjustment of Single Parents: Psychosocialand Economic Challenges

Tarar

Asghar

Ijaz

et al. 2021

PAFMJ

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Objective: To explore the relationship between psychological well-being and psycho-social adjustment ofeconomically independent and dependent single parents belonging to various socio-economic classes. Study Design: Correlational study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at technical services association, Lahore, from Jun 2018 to Aug 2019. Methodology: A sample of 213 single parents with ages ranging from 25 to 50 was selected through purposivesampling. Psychological Well-Being Scale Revisited and Psychological Adjustment Scale were used. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that well-being and adjustment levels of divorced (M=114.17, SD=24.5),(M= 88.89, SD=19.45) single parents was significantly lower than those of widowed (M=136.78, SD=17.68),(M=105.86, SD=10.88) ones respectively. Also, economically independent (M=135.1, SD=20.38), (M=104.0, SD=14.5) single parents had better well-being and adjustment than those who are economically dependent (M=108.3, SD=24.5), (M=85.5, SD=17.1). Furthermore, post-hoc tests revealed significantly low psychological well-being (M=130.72, SD=23.16) and adjustment (M=81, SD=12.23) of single parents from lower social class. Conclusion: The study concludes that socio-economic status and economic independence/dependence have aprofound impact on the psychological wellbeing and adjustment of single parents. These findings will promotethe understanding of single parenting in collectiveistic cultures and may lead towards learning of coping strategies to foster psychological well-being, familial and social adjustments of single parents.

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The Role of Informal Childcare in Mothers’ Experiences of Care and Employment: A Qualitative Lifecourse Analysis

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

‘I Can No Longer Do My Work Like How I Used To’: A Qualitative Longitudinal Cohort Study Exploring How Informal Working Mothers Balance The Requirements Of Livelihood And Safe Childcare In South Africa.

Psychological Well Being and Adjustment of Single Parents: Psychosocialand Economic Challenges

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The Role of Informal Childcare in Mothers’ Experiences of Care and Employment: A Qualitative Lifecourse Analysis

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

Maternal employment and the well-being of children living with a lone mother in Scotland

&nbsp;‘I Can No Longer Do My Work Like How I Used To’: A Qualitative Longitudinal Cohort Study Exploring How Informal Working Mothers Balance The Requirements Of Livelihood And Safe Childcare In South Africa.&nbsp;

Psychological Well Being and Adjustment of Single Parents: Psychosocialand Economic Challenges

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‘I Can No Longer Do My Work Like How I Used To’: A Qualitative Longitudinal Cohort Study Exploring How Informal Working Mothers Balance The Requirements Of Livelihood And Safe Childcare In South Africa.