E-communication among mothers of infants and toddlers in a community-based cohort: a content analysis

This paper is a report of a study to explain how mothers used a community based, cohort-based electronic communication system.

Early psychosocial support for families is regarded as inadequate. Employed women with young children can feel isolated from other families. Most parent e-mail lists are in a read-only format, with parents receiving informative e-mails from a corporation or a commercially motivated initiative. In an increasingly virtual age, it is important to examine parents' use of online support groups initiated by parents.

We used a qualitative descriptive design to conduct an inductive content analysis of archived threads of e-mail from 40 middle class Canadian mothers involved in a grass-roots online support cohort that shared birth year and geographical community. Two hundred and ninety-two pages of single-spaced mother-based communication that occurred from June 2004 to May 2005 were analysed.

Mothers used cohort-based electronic communication to build a local community, request and provide emotional support, share information and facilitate learning, and provide validation for the 'normalcy' of other women's mothering experiences. They shared stories and feelings, expressed sympathy, offered accolades, expressed appreciation for shared experiences, conveyed gratitude for support, and shared beliefs and expectations. Mothers anticipated childrearing difficulties shared strategies, exchanged advice, confirmed others' strategies and shared information.

Women in particular geographical areas can use asynchronous mail systems to share information with and obtain support from other mothers. Cohort-based electronic communication could be particularly important in rural areas where travel is restricted for women and access to professional support is limited.