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Learning the baby: a maternal thinking and problem-solving process
1Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans, USA. jjsph@uno.edu
Purpose:
To describe a maternal problem-solving process from new mothers' day-to-day experience of caring for and developing a relationship with their babies.
Design:
Qualitative study using grounded theory approach.
Setting:
Mothers' homes (n = 23) and workplaces (n = 2).
Participants:
25 mothers of babies from 2 weeks to 7 months.
Main Outcome Measures:
Semi-structured interviews.
Results:
"Learning the Baby" was a major thinking process that emerged. Systematic thinking dominated mothers' problem-solving. Even after the babies were comforted, mothers were not certain their efforts alleviated the babies' problems, because they usually were not certain of the problem.
Conclusions:
Mothers' thinking directs their caregiving actions. The findings were related to previous problem-solving and women's thinking perspectives. Nurses must use planned and unplanned encounters effectively to collaborate with and teach mothers about baby behavior and health care.