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Objective and Background: The nine months of pregnancy allow mothers to plan for the birth of their child practically and emotionally. A very preterm birth, which is generally unexpected and requires the infant's stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), is perceived as a crisis by most mothers. This study sought to investigate the significance for the mother of the combined experience of a very preterm birth and the infant's stay in the NICU two-three years after the birth., Methods: Using qualitative methodology, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 mothers (age 26-44) whose infants were born at 24-32 weeks. The analysis adopted the approach of multi-level listening to the diverse voices of the interviewees., Results: Four core themes emerged: negative feelings about the preterm birth; the NICU experience as a crisis; long-term effects of the very preterm birth and NICU experience; personal growth following the preterm birth and NICU., Discussion: In view of the findings, we discuss the meaning of the circumstances surrounding preterm birth on motherhood, and offer recommendations for practitioners.

Fertility treatments are a stressful experience. However, the support provided by meaningful support figures, such as a mother, may contribute positively to the mental health of women with fertility issues. The present study therefore explored the experience of Israeli mothers whose daughters encountered fertility problems and underwent treatment to bring their first child into the world. In a retrospective qualitative study, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 women aged 49-73. Women in the study had a daughter in a spousal heterosexual relationship who conceived her first child via fertility treatment, and this child was up to 4 years old at the time of the interview. Three main themes emerged: (a) The stressfulness of a daughter's fertility problems and treatments for the mother; (b) The mother's supportive role; and (c) The mother's own need for support. The results suggest that due to the unique nature of the mother-daughter relationship, a daughter's fertility problems and treatments are also stressful for her mother. Nevertheless, mothers can be, and wish to be, an important source of support for their daughters. Empirically, further research to extend this understanding is recommended. Practically, professionals should be aware of the mother's distress and the fact that she is likely to deny her own need for support, and make an effort to relate to the stress of these women and help them to be a more effective resource for their daughters. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective : In view of the heightened stress that might accompany a woman's decision to have a child on her own, we examined the experience of personal growth following the transition to motherhood of single mothers by choice and a comparison group of mothers in a couple relationship. We also examined the contribution of attachment style, resilience, and perceived social support to mothers' personal growth. Method : The sample consisted of 152 first-time Israeli mothers aged 28-48 whose children were no older than two. Of them, 76 were single mothers by choice and 76 were in a couple relationship. Results : Single mothers reported higher personal growth and less support from a significant other than mothers in a relationship. In addition, higher age, better economic status, and being a single mother contributed significantly to personal growth. Furthermore, among mothers in a relationship, higher growth was associated with more perceived support from the family, whereas among single mothers, it was associated with more perceived support from a significant other. Conclusion : The results highlight the potential of single mothers by choice to experience personal growth in the transition to motherhood, and the prominent role of support from a significant other in facilitating this experience.

In this study, the researchers examined, from an attachment theory perspective, changes in mothers' ( n  = 707) perception of the marital relationship over the course of the two years following childbirth. We found a decline in perceived quality of mothers' marital relationship over time, as well as several significant associations between birth circumstances (assisted reproductive technology, first/non-first baby), insecure attachment, and certain forms of support from the grandmothers on the one hand, and marital quality immediately after childbirth and over time on the other. Some forms of support served as partial mediators between attachment orientation and marital quality. We believe that the current findings can assist in designing interventions aimed at improving the spousal relationship after childbirth and decreasing potential stressors for both parents and newborns.

Introduction : Positive outcomes in the aftermath of childbirth have increasingly been studied in the last decade. However, most of the studies concentrate on short-term outcomes. The current study examined the perceived personal growth of mothers four years after childbirth, investigating the contribution of the event characteristics (full-term/pre-term birth), internal resources (optimism, self-esteem) and personal growth as measured one year after the birth. Methods : Mothers (n=259) participated in the study by completing a set of self-report questionnaires one and four years following the birth of their child/ren. Results : Personal growth after four years was found to be higher among mothers of pre-terms than of full-terms, and higher four years after the birth than it had been three years earlier. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated the significant contributions of being a mother to pre-term baby/ies, optimism and personal growth one year after the birth to women's personal growth three years later. Discussion : The results highlight the potential long-term effects of giving birth to a pre-term baby on personal growth, as well as the contribution of optimism as an important internal resource. They also indicate the development of personal growth over time. Explanations for the findings are offered and their practical implications are discussed.

The significance of the mother-daughter dyad in coping with stressful circumstances led us to examine (a) the associations between the mental health of women entering fertility treatment (n = 137; 76 aged 20-34; 61 aged 35-44) and the perceived type of support they receive from their mothers; (b) whether mental health is associated with age, and whether this association is moderated by the type of mother's support. We found that women perceiving more active engagement from their mothers reported greater well-being and less distress, whereas higher mothers' overprotection was associated with greater distress. Active engagement and protective buffering moderated the association between age and mental health.

The aim of this study is to identify mothers at risk for poorer maternal mental health (MMH) 1 month post-partum and to determine changes in MMH over 4 years in relation to birth circumstances (singleton/twins, full-term/pre-term infant/s, first/non-first child), internal resources (adult attachment styles), and external resources (marital quality and maternal grandmother's support) at 1 month post-partum. The mediating effects of external resources were also investigated. Questionnaires were completed between 2001 and 2012 by 561 Israeli mothers. Shortly after birth, mothers at risk for poorer MMH were those who gave birth prematurely or were characterized by insecure attachment styles, lower marital quality, younger age, or a higher level of education. The mothers with a good prognosis for improvement in MMH were those who had given birth prematurely or were younger, more highly educated, or multiparous. Women with insecure attachment or lower marital quality reported lower MMH one month after delivery that did not improve over time, and the MMH of older or less educated mothers deteriorated over time. Marital quality mitigated or exacerbated the effects of birth circumstances and insecure attachment style on MMH shortly after giving birth. Findings suggested that early interventions may be important to help identify women at risk.

This study examined the contribution of birth circumstances (premature and full-term birth) and individual and spousal factors (attachment orientations, parental self-efficacy and perceived infant temperament), measured 1 month post-partum, to the personal growth of first-time parents (n = 121) 1 and 5 months post-partum. The study overcame the limitations of prior research by accurately measuring actor effects while controlling for and assessing partner effects, by applying the actor-partner interdependence model. The findings confirm that becoming a parent, under normative and stressful circumstances, can lead to personal growth and parents of premature babies experience higher levels of growth than parents of full terms. Moreover, 1 month post-partum, actor effects were found for higher attachment anxiety and higher parental self-efficacy. Furthermore, personal growth at 1 month post-partum was found to be the strongest predictor of personal growth 5 months after childbirth. Five months post-partum, a positive partner effect was found for parental self-efficacy. Mothers reported higher growth than fathers only 5 months after the birth. It seems time plays an important role as to which variables contribute to personal growth. In the early stages of parenthood, personal growth is mostly an individual experience. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The present study examined well-being and personal growth in mothers (n = 414) 1 year after childbirth. We examined the contribution of the event characteristics (birth of singletons or twins, full- or pre-term babies, first or non-first child, spontaneous pregnancy or fertility treatments and infant temperament), internal resources (attachment anxiety and avoidance) and external resources (marital quality and maternal grandmother's support). Regressions indicated that having a first child, child's easier temperament, lower attachment anxiety and avoidance, grandmother's emotional support and some aspects of the spousal relationships contributed to well-being. Personal growth was found to be related to the birth of a pre-term baby or babies, positively associated with maternal grandmother's support, and the marital quality of parenthood, and negatively with mothers' education. Beyond the findings that well-being and personal growth are related to the availability of certain resources, the current study demonstrates that the two outcomes are separate phenomena that reveal different patterns of associations with other variables. Several explanations for the findings are proposed, and practical implications are discussed., (Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The present study investigated well-being and distress in 274 Israeli mothers of two-year-olds. Of these, 127 were mothers of singletons and 147 mothers of twins. The study examined the contribution to the explanation of well-being and distress of a range of variables relating to the mother, including sociodemographic characteristics, internal resources (attachment style, self-differentiation, and maternal self-efficacy), and external resources (marital quality and grandmothers' support). The findings showed that being a mother of a singleton or twins did not contribute to the explanation of variance in well-being or distress. Marital quality provided the strongest explained variance for both well-being and distress. Mother's health, attachment anxiety and self-differentiation also explained significant amounts of the variance. Several differences were found in the contribution of certain other variables, such as maternal grandmother's support, which contributed only to well-being. The results indicated the lesser role of sociodemographic variables, as opposed to the centrality of personality traits and marital quality, in the relationships with well-being and distress. Practical implications are discussed.

The validity of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for the experience of motherhood was examined in three separate studies, conducted in Israel between 2008 and 2010. Study 1 (n=150) compared the answers of new first-time mothers to an open-ended question regarding changes following childbirth with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory dimensions. Study 2 replicated this procedure using a more diverse sample (n=157) to confirm the usefulness of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory among various sub-groups of mothers (first-time and non-first-time mothers, mothers of twins and singletons, mothers of pre-term and full-term infants). Study 3 (n=152 mothers and their own mothers) sought to corroborate mothers' scores on the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory by means of their own mothers' reports of their daughters' growth following childbirth. This study also examined the applicability of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory's five factor structure-new possibilities, relating to others, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life-to the population of mothers. The findings indicated that the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory is indeed an effective instrument for the measurement of mothers' perceived positive changes following childbirth, and can be used for this purpose at least for several years after the birth.

In a longitudinal study conducted in Israel, the authors compared mothers of preterm twins (n=64) with mothers of full-term single babies (n=75) and twins (n=72). The authors examined the contributions of internal resources (mother's attachment style, mental health, sociodemographic characteristics), external resources (perceived maternal grandmother's support, mother's marital adaptation), and features of the event itself (infant temperament, additional stressful life events, mother's feelings toward her baby or babies) in proximity to the birth, to personal growth 1 year following the birth. Although mothers of preterm twins reported the highest level of negative feelings toward their infants and the lowest level of mental health, they also experienced the greatest personal growth. Younger age and lower level of education, along with higher perceived support from maternal grandmothers contributed to higher personal growth. It seems that in the wake of stress, even mothers who display lower personal resources can rely on their environmental resources and experience personal growth.

Parenting twins is typically portrayed as more stressful than is parenting single children and, therefore, more of a strain on the marital relationship. With this in mind, the present study examined the contribution of infant characteristics and mother's internal resources (attachment style) and external resources (maternal and paternal grandmothers' perceived support) to their marital adaptation during the first month following delivery, comparing mothers of twins (n = 88) with mothers of singletons (n = 82). The findings indicate that both internal and external resources contribute to the marital adaptation of the two groups, even beyond the contribution of specific circumstances. Thus, it seems that the birth of twins and the birth of a single child are normative life events that have more in common than previously acknowledged. The implications for the focus of social work interventions, particularly in the case of the birth of twins, are discussed.

Two studies explored the interplay between death awareness, attachment style, and maternal separation anxiety among first-time mothers of infants aged 3-12 months. In Study 1 (N = 60), a higher accessibility of death-related thoughts was found following induction of thoughts about separation from the infant. In Study 2 (N = 100), a mortality salience induction led to higher maternal separation anxiety. Contrary to expectations, these findings were not moderated by mother's attachment style. The results are explained in terms of Terror Management Theory, and demonstrate its applicability to maternal emotions and cognitions.

This longitudinal study examined the contribution of infants' temperament, mother's attachment style, and perceived grandmother's support following delivery, to the psychological mental health and marital adaptation of first time and non-first time Israeli mothers of pre-term (n = 70) and full-term (n = 78) twins, a year later. We collected data for the current study over 2 years (2003-2004). The findings suggested that the extent of mothers' personal and familial stress and their internal resource of attachment style played a crucial role in their mental health and marital adaptation. The external resource of grandmother's support contributed directly to the mothers' marital adaptation, whereas it contributed to their mental health only when infant's temperament was perceived to be difficult. Interestingly, the association between stress and adaptation was stronger among mothers of full-term twins than mothers of pre-term twins. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.