When Mothers Leave Their Children Behind

Abstract

Psychiatry has studied the effect on children of separation from their mothers or primary caregivers, but has not given equal attention to the effect on mothers of separation from their children. This article examines the current literature on separation from the mother's perspective. Following a review of the literature on mothers' attachment behaviors, as evidenced by separation from their very young children due to ordinary circumstances, attention will turn to specific populations of mothers enduring separation from their children in situations of hardship: mothers with mental illness, homeless mothers, mothers in prison, and two groups of working mothers-immigrant mothers and deployed navy mothers. Separation can be experienced as temporary, bringing on anxiety, or may involve a mother's choice between her child's safety and her own wish to keep the child near her, causing a conflict in the mother's feelings. In other situations, separation may be involuntary and long-lasting, inducing symptoms of depression, despair, and grief, all of which are characteristic of loss. The particular conditions of the separation-such as choice, control, and ongoing communication between mother and child-can mitigate the impact of the separation and transform it from a total to a partial loss. Three clinical cases of mothers forced to separate from their children in extreme circumstances are examined, with recommendations for treatment.

Severe Life Stress and Oxidative Stress in the Brain: From Animal Models to Human Pathology

“…SLS, which are known to induce depression, are caused due to the loss of a job or the death of a loved one (159). SLS, such as early maternal separation, maternal neglecting, prolonged loneliness, and social isolation, may induce psychotic symptoms, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders (110,145).…”

The Well-Being of Australian Service Mothers

“…Dreby (2010) found that the psychological distress of Latina mothers who migrated without their children to find work in the U.S. was tempered by the belief that they were supporting their family. Other factors, which have been found to reduce the level of psychological distress experienced by working mothers during periods of separation, include the degree of control the mother has over the circumstances of separation, the level of support at home, and knowing that their children are safe and being looked after (Schen 2005). Together these military and civilian studies serve to demonstrate the The Well-Being of Australian Service Mothers 745 complexity of any associations between deployment and subsequent health outcomes among service mothers, and the importance of social and family factors on health and wellbeing.…”

“…Finally, the cross-sectional design made it relatively impossible to discern the temporal order and thus potentially causal relation of independent and dependent variables. Given these limitations and the lack of research pertaining to the experiences of working mothers more generally who are separated from their children (Schen 2005), further research is required. In addition to the psychosocial effects of separation(s), a strength-based perspective is required to identify further organizational, group, and individual factors, which are or could support deployed mothers.…”

“…However, these recommendations were primarily focused on increasing the role of women in the military rather than supporting mothers who deploy. A considerable gap remains in knowledge pertaining to serving mothers in particular, who may be separated from their children for longer periods of time due to employment commitments (Schen 2005). It is also not clear as to what specific organizational, community, and family supports these women find or would find helpful, were they available.…”

Deployment of Military Mothers during Wartime

“…Concerns have been raised in the literature as the effects of maternal separations from the child upon attachment, a particularly important process during infancy (Schen, 2005). Studies have considered maternal separations as they occur for incarceration; mothers leaving children in home countries to immigrate for work or education; homelessness; hospitalization for mental illness; and during evacuation in war-torn areas.…”