Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Evidence shows that although first-time motherhood can be a positive experience, several challenges do exist. Literature and practice interventions emphasise social support resources for first-time mothers, where this investigation strived to provide a novel, holistic comprehension of self-support in relationship with the environment. Findings from thirteen firsttime mothers from the Cape Metropole demonstrated that some internal elements and environmental factors disrupted their development of self-support. When challenges arose, selfsupport developed via two vital components: the attainment of responsibility and arriving at insight. Experiences of joy and gratefulness proved to sustain self-support. Many social support resources evidently strengthened their self-support, but this study adds that ideal self-support for the participants was the mature interactive relationship with their environment. The findings imply that self-support is an experiential process of growth where the self-supportive first-time mother will always strive towards balance through experience, and continually move to new levels of self-support.
Author: Madré Du Toit
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W85980135