Maternal perspectives on postpartum return to the workplace.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe maternal perceptions about postpartum return to the workplace. DESIGN AND SETTING: The research framework was McCubbin and McCubbin's Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation. Employed, postpartum women, who resided in six different states, were recruited from day care and primary care settings to participate in this descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-four employed, married women, who returned to the workplace within one year after childbirth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: As part of a larger study, perceptions about combining multiple roles after return to the workplace are the focus for this report. RESULTS: Participants responded to open-ended questions about their return to the workplace during the first months after giving birth. Content analysis of those responses resulted in two major categories, Resiliency Challenges: Negative Aspects (role conflict/overload, family stress, family/child issues, finances, psychosocial issues) and Resiliency Building: Positive Aspects (social support, maternal role satisfaction, positive adaptation, career role satisfaction). CONCLUSIONS: The data support the premise that employed women view returning to the workforce as having more challenges than they expected because the experience was viewed as being mostly negative. Preparing for return to the workplace is an important, but neglected, topic that needs to be addressed and defined more clearly in the literature. Therefore, future research is needed to identify resources and interventions that will help women experience fewer challenges associated with postpartum employment.

Author information

Author/s: Nichols, Mary R (MR); Roux, Gayle M (GM);

Affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing, Richmond, USA. Mary.Nichols(-atsign-)midwives.org

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN / NAACOG (J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2004 Jul-Aug; vol 33 (issue 4) : pp 463-71

Dates: Created 2004/09/06; Completed 2004/09/30; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 15346672, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

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