2002 International International Biennial Scientific Meeting

RESEARCHING COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TO POSTNATAL DEPRESSION: GRANDMOTHERS' VIEWS

Scott, PK and Roufeil, LM

School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW

lroufeil@csu.edu.au

Objectives: Very little is known about the attitudes of older women towards adjustment to motherhood, particularly depression after childbirth. This is surprising given the likely importance of grandmothers as sources of support to their daughters during motherhood. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to explore older women's own experiences of motherhood, their perceptions of their daughter's experience, and their attitudes and beliefs about depression after childbirth.

Method: Interviews were conducted with ten older women who were themselves mothers of daughters currently parenting children under seven years old. The semi-structured in-depth interviews focused on the participants' experiences with new motherhood, their perceptions about their daughters' experiences, and how the women conceptualised adjustment difficulties such as depression.

Results: The transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Many years after their own experience of becoming a mother, it was still very difficult for these women to acknowledge any personal postnatal difficulties. However, the women were aware that they were still strongly influenced by the societal expectation that prevailed when they were mothering young babies that demanded that women simply cope with motherhood. With no other option but to cope, these older women emphasised the need for mothers to call on their own resources to cope with the demands of motherhood. This consistent pattern of responding was juxtaposed against an awareness of the challenges facing new mothers today. The term "postnatal depression", however, remained mysterious and unknown. Postnatal depression was relegated to the realm of medical experts as it was not considered the business of mothers.

Conclusions: The results will be discussed in terms of how such beliefs and attitudes might impact upon women who are adjusting to motherhood today. The advantages of in-depth interviewing compared to more structured approaches to measuring attitudes towards PND will also be discussed.