Tika Tonu: Young Māori Mothers' Experiences of Wellbeing Surrounding the Birth of their First Tamaiti

<p>The wellbeing experiences of young Māori mothers’ (ngā māmā) surrounding the birth of their first tamaiti and the impact of those experiences, often determine outcomes for wāhine Māori, their tamariki and whānau. A greater understanding and nurturing of young Māori mothers has far reaching implications that encompass hapū, iwi, community, Aotearoa and the health experiences and outcomes of Indigenous and other subjugated people in the global community. However, there is little exploration and information about the wellbeing experiences of young Māori mothers, and therefore little is known about their stories, thoughts, and feelings from their experiences. This thesis explores the experiences of young Māori mothers from their perspective, regarding pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Historical misrepresentation, western notions of gender and sexuality, negative statistics and reports have portrayed young Māori mothers as the least capable, least desired and deficient. Dominant western ideologies of motherhood and hegemonic perceptions fail to recognise the essence of wellbeing for young Māori mothers, and instead marginalise and render their aspirations invisible and irrelevant. This thesis brings to the fore the elements that ngā māmā signal as vital to their wellbeing. By utilising a kaupapa Māori approach to methodology, and a theoretical framework of kaupapa Māori and mana wahine, this thesis explores what matters to ngā māmā and their wellbeing, and how te ao Māori is an intrinsic part of those experiences. An integrated kaupapa Māori analytical framework is presented, which was developed for the thesis as a legitimate and authentic approach to research method and design to help make sense of and assemble the codes, symbolism and themes of the data. The findings of this thesis signify the power of the female to influence the wellbeing of ngā māmā through stability, guidance and empowerment. The thesis captures the tamaiti as ‘tohu aroha’, and explicates the journey of ngā māmā to greater rangatiratanga and identity. Furthermore, the vitality and balance of te ao Māori within the lives of ngā māmā contributes to what is significant to their experiences of wellbeing. The thesis emancipates ngā māmā from entrenched stereotypes by epitomising their experiences and thus denouncing deficit discourses, and advances the aspirations of ngā māmā and the lives of their tamariki and whānau. This thesis makes an original and complementary contribution to the growing knowledge around Māori maternal wellbeing, kaupapa Māori methodology and research.</p>

Tika Tonu: Young Māori Mothers' Experiences of Wellbeing Surrounding the Birth of their First Tamaiti

<p>The wellbeing experiences of young Māori mothers’ (ngā māmā) surrounding the birth of their first tamaiti and the impact of those experiences, often determine outcomes for wāhine Māori, their tamariki and whānau. A greater understanding and nurturing of young Māori mothers has far reaching implications that encompass hapū, iwi, community, Aotearoa and the health experiences and outcomes of Indigenous and other subjugated people in the global community. However, there is little exploration and information about the wellbeing experiences of young Māori mothers, and therefore little is known about their stories, thoughts, and feelings from their experiences. This thesis explores the experiences of young Māori mothers from their perspective, regarding pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Historical misrepresentation, western notions of gender and sexuality, negative statistics and reports have portrayed young Māori mothers as the least capable, least desired and deficient. Dominant western ideologies of motherhood and hegemonic perceptions fail to recognise the essence of wellbeing for young Māori mothers, and instead marginalise and render their aspirations invisible and irrelevant. This thesis brings to the fore the elements that ngā māmā signal as vital to their wellbeing. By utilising a kaupapa Māori approach to methodology, and a theoretical framework of kaupapa Māori and mana wahine, this thesis explores what matters to ngā māmā and their wellbeing, and how te ao Māori is an intrinsic part of those experiences. An integrated kaupapa Māori analytical framework is presented, which was developed for the thesis as a legitimate and authentic approach to research method and design to help make sense of and assemble the codes, symbolism and themes of the data. The findings of this thesis signify the power of the female to influence the wellbeing of ngā māmā through stability, guidance and empowerment. The thesis captures the tamaiti as ‘tohu aroha’, and explicates the journey of ngā māmā to greater rangatiratanga and identity. Furthermore, the vitality and balance of te ao Māori within the lives of ngā māmā contributes to what is significant to their experiences of wellbeing. The thesis emancipates ngā māmā from entrenched stereotypes by epitomising their experiences and thus denouncing deficit discourses, and advances the aspirations of ngā māmā and the lives of their tamariki and whānau. This thesis makes an original and complementary contribution to the growing knowledge around Māori maternal wellbeing, kaupapa Māori methodology and research.</p>

“Mi Hijo es lo Principal” – Guatemalan Mothers Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, motherwork has increased. Mothers, including in Guatemala, have taken on expanded responsibilities of virtual schooling and keeping the family safe and healthy, in addition to prepandemic familial and professional contributions. Twelve Guatemalan mothers of children under age 7 were interviewed about how they negotiated the pandemic; data were coded using thematic analysis and consensual qualitative research frameworks. Analysis revealed six themes: daily stressors, fostering children's development, implementing coping strategies, utilizing technology, establishing closer relationships, and achieving personal and occupational growth. Guatemalan mothers tapped into existing ideologies of motherhood, relied on traditional values of Guatemalan culture – faith, family, and gratitude – prioritized their children's well-being, and found unexpected benefits. Social policies that specifically address women's conditions, agency, and strengths could forward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5, Gender Equality, in Guatemala.

The Dialectics of Motherhood in 1950s New Zealand

While numerous historians have questioned the assumption that the 1950s were wholly conservative in terms of gender politics, few have systematically explored the nuances of debates over motherhood in particular. This article asks how depictions of motherhood in two popular New Zealand magazines reflected multiple voices that spoke of the complexities of mothers’ experiences and broader ideologies of motherhood during this era. It develops the concept of “dialectics of motherhood” in order to account for the interwoven ways in which sophisticated debates over “good” and “bad” mothers helped to propel social changes that led to the second-wave feminist movement.

Distance Mothering

Contemporary families are diverse, though the diversity of configurations is not necessarily represented in society’s narrow definitions. This chapter focuses specifically on mothers who parent from a distance either because they have involuntarily lost custody or chose to relinquish custody to another caregiver. Noncustodial parents typically visit their children. This parenting arrangement creates a sociological opportunity to explore what it means to parent from a distance within the context of gendered notions and the family. Because noncustodial mothers violate expectations associated with dominant ideologies of motherhood (i.e., mother as primary caregiver), they provide a unique opportunity to explore the intersection between gender role expectations and parenting. This chapter discusses dominant definitions of motherhood, the experience of noncustodial mothers within the context of these dominant expectations—both in the United States and abroad—as well as the impact of long-distance mothering on the well-being of mothers and children.

Mother Love, Maternal Ambivalence, and the Possibility of Empowered Mothering

Dominant cultural ideologies of motherhood define the nature of mother love. Recent developments in motherhood studies, and the work of a small number of feminist philosophers and scholars of motherhood, have challenged the tenets of these ideologies by daring to speak the “unspeakable”: that mother love is often and for all mothers, whether consciously or not, permeated by powerful negative and conflicting emotions termed maternal ambivalence. In this essay, relying on recorded personal narratives by Bosnian women who are raising children born of wartime rape, as well as recent studies on empowered motherhood, my aim is to show that maternal love, like love in any other close relationship, encompasses and assimilates healthy ambivalence, and can inform maternal care in a constructive and positive manner. I argue that the acknowledgment of healthy maternal ambivalence as an integral aspect of mother love involves honoring the mother's subjectivity and validates her personhood, and as such it opens up the possibility of redefining mother love in terms that are empowering to mothers.