Mothers in Same-Sex Relationships - Striving for Equal Parenthood: A Grounded Theory Study

Appelgren Engström, Heléne, Häggström-Nordin, Elisabet, Borneskog, Catrin and Almqvist, Anna-Lena (2019) Mothers in Same-Sex Relationships - Striving for Equal Parenthood: A Grounded Theory Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28 (19-20). pp. 3700-3709. ISSN 0962-1067

[img]
Preview
Text (Final published version)
Engstr-m_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Clinical_Nursing.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (1MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Text (Advance online version)
Engstr-m_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Clinical_Nursing.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (1MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Text
jocn.14971.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14971

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To get a deeper understanding of how mothers in same-sex relationships think and reason about their parenthood in terms of gender equality, and how they experience early parental support from child healthcare professionals. Background: There is an increasing amount of research on how women in same-sex relationships experience healthcare services when forming a family. Yet there is limited knowledge of what kind of early parental support these women may request. Design: Grounded theory. Follows guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ). Method: Twenty women ranging from 25 to 42 years of age participated in semi-structured interviews. Data collection and analysis took place in parallel, as recommended in grounded theory methodology. Results: The results are described by the core category Same-sex mothers request professional support to achieve equal parenthood, which includes five categories: (a) equality in everyday life, (b) diversity in mother and child attachment, (c) justification of the family structure, (d) ambivalent thoughts about their child's future and (e) a special need for networking and request for professional support. These findings provide a deeper understanding of how same-sex mothers experience their parenthood and the parental support that is offered. Conclusion: Child healthcare professionals need to be sensitive and recognise both mothers as equal parents and offer early parenting groups where two-mother families feel included and supported. Relevance to clinical practice: Healthcare professionals need to be aware of diverse family formations and meet each parent as a unique individual without heteronormative assumptions. Same-sex mothers must be treated as equal parents and acknowledged as mothers. Healthcare professionals should offer inclusive and supportive parental groups to same-sex families. They should also inform and support nonbirth mothers about the possibility to breastfeed.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: caring, encounters, parenthood, parental support, qualitative study, Sweden, two-mother families
Subjects: B700 Nursing
B900 Others in Subjects allied to Medicine
L300 Sociology
L900 Others in Social studies
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Nursing, Midwifery and Health
Depositing User: Elena Carlaw
Date Deposited: 10 Jul 2019 10:12
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2021 11:33
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/39938

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics