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Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613802500980736 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Viviers, Britney-Lee |
| author2 | Kruger, Lou-Marie |
| author_browse | Kruger, Lou-Marie Viviers, Britney-Lee |
| author_facet | Kruger, Lou-Marie Viviers, Britney-Lee |
| author_sort | Viviers, Britney-Lee |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134867 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:56.100Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134867 Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood Viviers, Britney-Lee Kruger, Lou-Marie Coetzee, Azille Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Psychology. Motherhood -- Western Cape (South Africa) Social constructionism -- Western Cape (South Africa) Puerperium -- Western Cape (South Africa) Adjustment (Psychology) -- Western Cape (South Africa) Low-income mothers -- Western Cape (South Africa) Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Viviers, B. 2025. Experiencing Motherhood: A Social ConstructionistStudy Exploring How Postpartum Mothers in OneLow-Income Semi-Rural Community in the Western CapeSubjectively Experience the Transition to Motherhood. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/2e7f6e52-c1e9-4647-9c4c-8ded8a28bb82 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite feminist research's pivotal advancements, a clear gap remains in understanding women's experiences in different social contexts, particularly with motherhood. The present study assumes that the medicalisation of motherhood conceals the impact of social factors on maternal experiences, overlooks the distress faced by low-income women, and often pathologises women. Adopting a feminist social constructionist framework, which emphasises the importance of participants' subjective experiences during their transition to motherhood, this study allows each participant the autonomy to determine which aspects of their maternal journey are most meaningful to them. The aim of this research is to explore the lived experiences among a cohort of low-income women in a semi-rural area of the Western Cape, with a focus on their transition to motherhood. With this, the goal is not to perpetuate idealised images of motherhood for women, but instead to provide a platform for recording real and authentic maternal experiences within the South African context. Through the lens of feminist theory and situated within a qualitative method of inquiry, this study was conducted using a social constructionist paradigm. Seven Afrikaans postpartum mothers, ranging from 20 to 43 years of age, were recruited from the low-income, remote community of Kylemore using purposive and snowball sampling. Data was gathered using open-ended, semi-structured interviews and a demographic information form. A pilot interview was conducted to evaluate the questions in the interview schedule. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Charmaz's social constructionist grounded theory. Analysis of the data saw eight chief categories emerge which highlight varying dimensions of motherhood, including its discursive and experiential meanings, the affective and relational aspects of being a mother, the transformative self-experiences associated with motherhood, the embodied nature of maternal identity, and the strategies mothers employ to cope and defend against the challenges they face. The findings reveal that low-income South African women's experiences of motherhood are characterised by both joy and struggle, illustrating the existence of a state of ambivalence. Despite women's interpretations of their experiences largely being shaped and perpetuated by strong institutions that pathologise them for not conforming to the prevailing maternal paradigm, they still imbue their experiences of motherhood with intense meaning, hope, and resilience. Ethics approval was obtained from the Western Cape Health Research Committee and the Health Research Ethics Committee at the University of Stellenbosch to conduct this study. Participants were informed of their rights as participants and the measures that would be taken to maintain anonymity prior to them giving consent. This study further employed various techniques to ensure validity and reliability. Techniques like paraphrasing and echoing were used to clarify ambiguous responses during interviews. Emerging codes and local idiomatic expressions were also regularly discussed with locals. Rich data extracts are presented for reader’s validation. Triangulation was also used, and reflexivity was achieved through reflexive journals and prolonged community exposure to understand the unique social context. With the study's limitations considered, the practical and theoretical consequences of the findings are finally discussed. Also included are recommendations for future research. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten spyte van feministiese navorsing se deurslaggewende vooruitgang, bly 'n duidelike leemte in die begrip van vroue se ervarings in verskillende sosiale kontekste, veral met moederskap. Die huidige studie veronderstel dat die medikalisasie van moederskap die impak van sosiale faktore op moederlike ervarings verberg, die nood wat lae-inkomste vroue in die gesig staar, miskyk en vroue dikwels patologiseer. Deur 'n feministiese sosiaal-konstruksionistiese raamwerk aan te neem, wat die belangrikheid van deelnemers se subjektiewe ervarings tydens hul oorgang na moederskap beklemtoon, laat hierdie studie elke deelnemer die outonomie toe om te bepaal watter aspekte van hul moederlike reis vir hulle die betekenisvolste is. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die geleefde ervarings onder 'n kohort lae-inkomste vroue in 'n semilandelike gebied van die Wes-Kaap te verken, met 'n fokus op hul oorgang na moederskap. Hiermee is die doel nie om geïdealiseerde beelde van moederskap vir vroue voort te sit nie, maar eerder om 'n platform te bied vir die optekening van werklike en outentieke moederervarings binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Deur die lens van feministiese teorie en geleë binne 'n kwalitatiewe metode van ondersoek, is hierdie studie uitgevoer met behulp van 'n sosiaal-konstruksionistiese paradigma. Sewe Afrikaanse postpartum moeders, wat wissel van 20 tot 43 jaar oud, is gewerf uit die lae-inkomste, afgeleë gemeenskap van Kylemore met behulp van doelgerigte en sneeubal steekproefneming. Data is ingesamel met behulp van oop, semigestruktureerde onderhoude en 'n demografiese inligtingsvorm. 'n Loodsonderhoud is gevoer om die vrae in die onderhoudskedule te evalueer. Onderhoude is woordeliks getranskribeer en ontleed deur Charmaz se sosiaal-konstruksionistiese gefundeerde teorie te gebruik. Met ontleding van die data het agt hoofkategorieë na vore gekom wat verskillende dimensies van moederskap beklemtoon, insluitend die diskursiewe en ervaringsbetekenisse daarvan, die affektiewe en relasionele aspekte van moederwees, die transformerende selfervarings wat met moederskap geassosieer word, die beliggaamde aard van moederlike identiteit, en die strategieë wat moeders gebruik om die uitdagings wat hulle in die gesig staar te hanteer en te verdedig. Die bevindinge toon dat lae-inkomste Suid-Afrikaanse vroue se ervarings van moederskap gekenmerk word deur beide vreugde en stryd, wat die bestaan van 'n toestand van ambivalensieillustreer. Ten spyte daarvan dat vroue se interpretasies van hul ervarings grootliks gevorm en voortgesit word deur sterk instellings wat hulle patologiseer omdat hulle nie aan die heersende moederparadigma voldoen nie, gee hulle steeds hul ervarings van moederskap met intense betekenis, hoop en veerkragtigheid. Etiekgoedkeuring is verkry van die Wes-Kaapse Gesondheidsnavorsingskomitee en die Gesondheidsnavorsingsetiekkomitee by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch om hierdie studie uit te voer. Deelnemers is ingelig oor hul regte as deelnemers en die maatreëls wat getref sou word om anonimiteit te handhaaf voordat hulle toestemming gegee het. Hierdie studie het verder verskeie tegnieke aangewend om geldigheid en betroubaarheid te verseker. Tegnieke soos parafrasering en eggo is gebruik om dubbelsinnige antwoorde tydens onderhoude te verduidelik. Ontluikende kodes en plaaslike idiomatiese uitdrukkings is ook gereeld met plaaslike inwoners bespreek. Ryk data-uittreksels word aangebied vir leser se validering. Triangulasie is ook gebruik, en refleksiwiteit is bereik deur refleksiewe joernale en langdurige gemeenskapsblootstelling om die unieke sosiale konteks te verstaan. Met die studie se beperkings in ag geneem, word die praktiese en teoretiese gevolge van die bevindinge ten slotte bespreek. Ook ingesluit is aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing. Masters 2026-01-13T09:55:57Z 2026-01-13T09:55:57Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134867 Stellenbosch University 247 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Motherhood -- Western Cape (South Africa) Social constructionism -- Western Cape (South Africa) Puerperium -- Western Cape (South Africa) Adjustment (Psychology) -- Western Cape (South Africa) Low-income mothers -- Western Cape (South Africa) Viviers, Britney-Lee Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title | Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title_full | Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title_fullStr | Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title_short | Experiencing motherhood: a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low-income semi-rural community in the Western Cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| title_sort | experiencing motherhood a social constructionist study exploring how postpartum mothers in one low income semi rural community in the western cape subjectively experience the transition to motherhood |
| topic | Motherhood -- Western Cape (South Africa) Social constructionism -- Western Cape (South Africa) Puerperium -- Western Cape (South Africa) Adjustment (Psychology) -- Western Cape (South Africa) Low-income mothers -- Western Cape (South Africa) |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134867 |
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