The puerperium and contemporary woman

an investigation about the experience and the impacts of loss of autonomy

Abstract

Considering women have been undertaking different responsibilities in recent decades, their role as mothers is also changing. Through a descriptive study with a qualitative approach the goal was to describe the experience of contemporary women in the postpartum period, and check whether during this time conflicts arise resulting from their loss of personal autonomy and the demands arising from their role as mother. Performed through a structured questionnaire, the research involved 10 participants, all of which were primiparas. It was found that the results indicated that there is a loss of autonomy arising from the difficulty in reconciling their normal routine activities with the newfound responsibilities of caring for the baby. It was identified that mothers surrender their previously routine activities easily, attributing this to the fact that they believe it is just a passing phase and their normal lives will resume eventually. An important note which retracts the contemporaneity is the presence of a father figure who is supporting the mother and involved in caring for the baby, thereby providing greater security for the mother. Although the hypothesis has been confirmed, it was identified that the primipara’s conflict is the fact of knowing that, after the period of maternity leave, she will have to return to work, leaving the baby under the care of other people. This paper presents the experiences of contemporary women during this phase of motherhood, which continues to be one of the most influential and life changing events of their lives.