ABSTRACT
Researching the lives of mothers with children under five from the most deprived areas of a major city in the United Kingdom during a pandemic was never going to be easy. In this performative reflection, I explore how walking and the side-be-sidedness of our interaction facilitated conversation and understanding, between one young mother and myself. I also consider in this performative text, the way a researcher's thoughts whirl around and respond to what is being shared, although never voiced at the time.
ABSTRACT
How did the initial COVID-19 lockdown affect family life in terms of household chores, childcare, finances, communication, sexuality and other spheres of a romantic relationship? How do these issues differ based on whether the couple is in a long-distance relationship, dating but not living together, or is married or cohabitating, with or without children? Drawing on a virtual ethnography of Italian social-media communities, sixteen follow-up online interviews with eight adult couples and a discussion of their ‘Corona diaries', this contribution extends a practice-based approach to focus on couples' experiences, feelings and coping strategies during the COVID-19 lockdown temporalities of Spring 2020 in Italy. Forced self-isolation eroded feelings of ontological safety, making especially non-cohabiting partners feel even more vulnerable to the stress of contagion risk and loneliness. This phenomenon in some cases even de-romanticized the relationship to avoid feeling the lack of the partner. On the contrary, cohabiting couples revealed a discomfort linked to ‘domestic gravity' and daily crowding, or the difficulty of safeguarding small moments of solitude. Conflicts were particularly exacerbated when partners had to reconcile agile work, childcare and domestic work. Working mothers with young children are among those most affected by the increased workload and resulting frustration.
ABSTRACT
AIMS: To determine the rate and level of postpartum depression (PPD), as well as to examine and compare PPD, social support and maternal self-efficacy between adolescent and adult mothers at 8 weeks postpartum during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: Policy measures to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19 have disrupted many aspects of life and decreased social connections, which negatively impacts psychological well-being of the general population. However, studies focused on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and maternal self-efficacy in postpartum mothers, particularly adolescent mothers, are limited. DESIGN: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out following the STROBE guidelines. METHODS: An online questionnaire was administered from February to March 2021. Data were collected by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Postpartum Support Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) at 8 weeks postpartum. One-way MANOVA was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Data from 63 adolescent mothers and 63 adult mothers were analysed. There were significant correlations between PPD, social support and maternal self-efficacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both adolescent and adult mothers had significantly negative impacts from the pandemic on mental health, social support and maternal self-efficacy. However, the adolescent mothers had higher rates of depressive symptoms (36.5% and 23.8%, respectively) as well as lower PSQ score (121.25 and 130.52, respectively) and PSOC scores (62.54 and 70.94, respectively) compared with adult mothers in the first 8 weeks postpartum during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Adolescent mothers had a significantly higher rate of depressive symptoms and significantly lower social support and maternal self-efficacy scores compared to adult mothers at 8 weeks postpartum during the COVID-19 pandemic. IMPACT: Midwives or nurses should emphasize the negative mental health impacts during the COVID-19 situation and routinely screen for depressive symptoms, especially in adolescent mothers, which could help identify the at-risk mothers for developing PPD. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Neither patients nor the public were directly involved in the study.
ABSTRACT
Even before COVID‐19, immigrant teachers who teach immigrant children in dual language classrooms were under a tremendous amount of pressure in their schools and districts. "I know what they are going through”, Elise, a veteran teacher from Brazil, disclosed during an interview when asked about her knowledge on children's lives. She was referencing her shared identity with her students. However, in a school where immigrant teachers were a minority and so were their students, the effects of a global pandemic further exacerbated the inequalities related to quality education for children. Scholars have pointed out that culturally knowledgeable and responsive teachers are especially important in education and care settings that serve children from immigrant families. These expectations grew exponentially since COVID‐19 hit in March of 2020. Participants in this research, Brazilian immigrant women who were teachers, toggled between their identities as they empathized, supported, and cared for their students. Elise, a Brazilian immigrant teacher with over a decade of experience and the mother of three young children of her own explained, "If before I felt I could barely help and care for my students under the pressure of performing and holding up the so called effectiveness of dual language programs, now I really feel like they (immigrant children) are out of reach. And it is on me. I feel like it is my responsibility”. With the purpose of shedding light on the ways in which immigrant Brazilian teachers understand their work as educators amid a global pandemic, this article addresses the following research questions: (i) How are Brazilian immigrant women who are teachers re‐signifying their work in light of a pandemic? (ii) How do their intersectional identities contribute to their understandings of their work?
ABSTRACT
An estimated 12 million girls aged 15-19 years, and 777,000 girls younger than 15 give birth globally each year. Contexts of war and displacement increase the likelihood of early marriage and childbearing. Given the developmentally sensitive periods of early childhood and adolescence, adolescent motherhood in conflict-affected contexts may put a family at risk intergenerationally. We propose that the specifics of normative neuroendocrine development during adolescence, including increased sensitivity to stress, pose additional risks to adolescent girls and their young children in the face of war and displacement, with potential lifelong consequences for health and development. This paper proposes a developmental, dual-generational framework for research and policies to better understand and address the needs of adolescent mothers and their small children. We draw from the literature on developmental stress physiology, adolescent parenthood in contexts of war and displacement internationally, and developmental cultural neurobiology. We also identify culturally meaningful sources of resilience and provide a review of the existing literature on interventions supporting adolescent mothers and their offspring. We aim to honor Edward Zigler's groundbreaking life and career by integrating basic developmental science with applied intervention and policy.