Phenomenological Study on Mothering Experiences of the Married Immigrant Women in Urban Areas

This study was done to explore the lived experience of pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and early child rearing in married immigrant women in urban areas.

Data were collected from February to April, 2011 through in-depth interviews. Nine immigrant women were selected in a metropolitan area through the purposive and snowball sampling method. After obtaining IRB permission and informed consent from the participants, all interviews were recorded with MP3 recorder and transcribed for analysis. Using the phenomenological approach, data collected through in-depth interviewing were analyzed following Colaizzi style.

Data analysis revealed 4 categories and 10 themes related to pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and early child rearing of married immigrant women in urban areas. These four categories were 'A clumsy foreigner's life with nostalgia', 'Crisis in the crisis', 'Unprepared for motherhood', and 'Living together with new family without regrets'. It was a common finding that they were not ready to be mothers because of the very short time for adjustment in Korea. Compared to rural, immigrant women urban women had various in social support systems.

The results indicate that adequate education is needed for immigrant women regarding motherhood, and that this education should be culturally appropriate for these women.