Preparing solo mothers for childbirth and parenthood - The importance of being with like-minded women.

OBJECTIVES: Denmark and many high-income countries have seen an increase in the number of single women getting pregnant through medical assisted reproduction (MAR). These women are also named solo mothers. According to the Danish Health Authorities, they should, as all other pregnant women, be offered antenatal education. The aim of this study was to explore solo mothers' needs in order to prepare them for childbirth and parenthood. METHODS: This qualitative study was set to investigate solo mothers' experiences and requirements during pregnancy toprepare them for childbirth and parenting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone or face-to-face. A systematic text condensation and interpretation was used to analyse data. RESULTS: 38 interviews were conducted before and after pregnancy. Twenty solo mothers participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the analysis: 'Confrontation with the normative pregnancy', 'Mirroring and network' and 'Using formal and informal sources to gain information'. CONCLUSION: The conventional antenatal packages offered by the healthcare system did not meet the solo mothers' needs. The women called for content and information tailored to single parents. Solo mothers may benefit from structured antenatal classes in small groups. Being with like-minded women was essential for preparing for childbirth and parenting.

Single mothers by choice - experiences of single women seeking treatment at a public fertility clinic in Denmark: A pilot study.

PROBLEM: There has been an increase in the number of single women deciding to have children through the use of medically assisted reproduction (MAR). These women are referred to as 'single mothers by choice' (SMC). BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown how SMC can feel stigmatised. AIM: Explore if single women seeking fertility treatment in Denmark feel stigmatised. METHODS: Six single women undergoing MAR at a public fertility clinic in Denmark were interviewed. The interviews were audiotaped, anonymised, and transcribed in full, after provided written consent by the participants to take part in the study. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: The women would have preferred to have a child in a relationship with a partner. Despite their dream of the nuclear family meaning a family group consisting of two parents and their children (one or more), the women choose to become SMC because motherhood was of such importance, and they feared they would otherwise become too old to have children. The participants did not experience stigma or negative responses to their decision, but they all had an awareness of the prejudices other people might have towards SMC. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the understanding of the experiences of single women seeking fertility treatment in a welfare state where there are no differences in the possibilities for different social classes to seek MAR.

Rising nonmarital first childbearing among college-educated women: Evidence from three national studies.

Levels of nonmarital first childbearing are assessed using recent administrations of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort; the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health; and the National Survey of Family Growth. Results confirm that the higher a woman's educational attainment, the less likely she is to be unmarried at the time of her first birth. A comparison over time shows increases in nonmarital first childbearing at every educational level, with the largest percentage increase occurring among women with college degrees at the BA or BS level or higher. This article projects that 18 to 27% of college-educated women now in their thirties who have a first birth will be unmarried at the time. In addition, among all women who are unmarried at first birth, women with college degrees are more likely to be married at the time of their second birth, and, in a majority of cases, the other parent of the two children was the same person. A growing proportion of well-educated women, and their partners, may therefore be pursuing a family formation strategy that proceeds directly to a first birth, and then proceeds, at a later point, to marriage, followed by a second birth. Possible reasons for the increase in nonmarital first births among the college-educated include the stagnation of the college wage premium; the rise in student debt; decreasing selectivity; and the growing acceptability of childbearing within cohabiting unions, which have become a common setting for nonmarital childbearing, and among single parents.

Factors associated with behavioral adjustment among school-age children of gay and heterosexual single fathers through surrogacy.

Thirty-one children of gay single fathers and 28 children of heterosexual single fathers, all born through surrogacy, were compared with 31 children of gay partnered fathers through surrogacy and 30 children of heterosexual partnered fathers through in-vitro fertilization on their perceptions of self-worth and their father- and caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For children of single fathers, the study also examined associations between aspects related to their surrogacy conception, feelings about their family arrangement, and behavioral adjustment. All children (47.5% girls) were aged 6-12 years (Mmonths = 97.84, SD = 20.50) and living in Italy; all fathers (Myears = 43.79; SD = 6.42) identified as cisgender, reported a medium-to-high socioeconomic status, and were White (with the exception of one gay partnered father). No differences were found across the four family groups in any behavioral outcome, with children demonstrating, on average, high levels of self-worth and low levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. In single-father families, regardless of the father's sexual orientation, children with a weaker understanding of surrogacy, lower satisfaction with their contact with the gestational carrier, and lower comfort with their family arrangement were associated with more externalizing problems. Furthermore, children's female gender and lower satisfaction with their contact with the gestational carrier were associated with more internalizing problems, whereas children's male gender and greater understanding of surrogacy were associated with higher self-worth. Taken together, these findings do not support the commonly held assumption that the combination of surrogacy conception and single fatherhood is detrimental for children's behavioral adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis in late adolescence: roles of family living arrangement and socioeconomic group.

BACKGROUND: France has one of the highest levels in Europe for early use of legal and illegal psychoactive substances. We investigate in this country disparities in adolescent problematic substance use by family living arrangement and parental socioeconomic group. METHODS: The data used were from the 2017 nationally-representative ESCAPAD survey, conducted among 17-year-olds in metropolitan France (N = 39,115 with 97% response rate). Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using modified Poisson regression. RESULTS: Adolescents living in non-intact families (44%) reported daily smoking, binge drinking and regular cannabis use (respectively ≥3 episodes and ≥ 10 uses in the last 30 days) much more frequently than those living in intact families (for example, the PR estimates for father single parent families were respectively 1.69 (1.55-1.84), 1.29 (1.14-1.45) and 2.31 (1.95-2.74)). Socioeconomic differences across types of families did little to explain the differential use. Distinctive socioeconomic patterns were found: a classical gradient for smoking (PR = 1.34 (1.22-1.47) for the most disadvantaged group relative to the most privileged); an inverse association for binge drinking (PR = 0.72 (0.64-0.81) for the most disadvantaged relative to the most privileged), and no significant variation for cannabis use. CONCLUSION: Our findings shed light on the consistency of the excess use of adolescents from non-intact families and on the substance-specific nature of the association with parental socioeconomic group. Preventive approaches at the population level should be complemented by more targeted strategies.

Depressive and anxiety disorders among single mothers in Dhaka.

BACKGROUND: Recent reports revealed that the number of single mothers has been increasing day by day in Dhaka city; however, their psychological problems have not been studied yet. AIM: We aimed to see the proportion of single mothers having depressive and anxiety disorders. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted under the supervision of the Department of Psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from August 2016 to July 2017. A total of 156 single mothers from three social strata, namely, lower-, middle- and upper-class group were included purposively. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of demography and structured clinical interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition, axis-I disorders, clinician version (SCID-I-CV) which were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. RESULTS: This study showed that the mean age of the single mothers was 34.8 ± 8.9 years. The overall 48.8% of single mothers had either depressive and/or anxiety disorders where 17.3% depressive disorder, 21.2% anxiety disorders and 10.3% had a dual diagnosis. Major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were the most common specific diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This study provided us a sound background knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders among single mothers. This study shows the need for larger research on this issue and early detection would help them to improve the quality of life.

From leave it to beaver to modern family: The influence of family structure on adoption attitudes.

How do social and religious views influence attitudes of the capability and appropriateness of a prospective adoptive parent? The present experiment presents an investigation into the sources of attitudes and biases towards gay and lesbian couples and single parents in an adoption scenario. The author discusses existing theories of discrimination against LGBT populations and outgroups in general, including Social Dominance Orientation and Religious Fundamentalism, all highly predictive of LGBT bias. Current forms of adoption discrimination against nontraditional adopters from public policy makers and adoption agencies alike is explored and an empirical test of these discriminatory trends was created. Proposed adoption scenarios were presented and participant sentiments about the appropriateness of the adoption and prospective parent(s) were assessed. The direct and interactive effects of overt social and religious views were measured and these factors were clearly demonstrated to influence adoption attitudes. The present research aimed to uncover modern sources of prejudice towards gay and lesbian and single adoptive parents and offer new avenues of exploration into the foundation of such discrimination.

Single women and motherhood: right now or maybe later?

Purpose: The decision to have a child might be postponed by the lack of partner, and elective egg freezing (EEF) can afford single women more time to find a suitable companion to reach the desired family structure. Alternatively, some women decide to have a child on their own thorough in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) with donor sperm. This study investigates the motivations and personal characteristics of single women undergoing IVF/IUI or EEF.Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 281 heterosexual single women who underwent either IVF/IUI with donor sperm for solo motherhood (208) or EEF (73) in 2015 at a large fertility center. An anonymous electronic survey was sent after starting the treatment.Results: The most common reason for not having fulfilled the motherhood desire was lack of partner (72.4% IVF/IUI and 65.9% EEF). We found that women undergoing IVF/IUI report a longer motherhood desire, >10 years (71.3% vs. 54.3%), live closer to their families (75.5% vs. 56.5%), and perceive a stronger family support than women undergoing EEF (85.4% vs. 68.8%). Finally, 100% of EEF obviously knew about the possibility of IVF/IUI with donor sperm, while 59.9% of IVF/IUI knew about EEF.Conclusion: Our results underscore the relevance of family ties in the decision to undergo IVF/IUI as single women. Moreover, these women might not be fully informed about social freezing as an option to postpone motherhood. Health professionals should be aware of these differences when counseling single women on fertility choices.

Constructive and destructive interparental conflict, parenting, and coparenting alliance.

Guided by the spillover hypothesis of family systems theory, we used data from the Building Strong Families project to examine intrafamily relations between destructive and constructive interparental conflict, harsh and supportive parenting behaviors, and coparenting alliance across different family configurations: married, cohabiting, and noncohabiting (never married) parents. Our sample (N = 2,784 couples/parents) was racially diverse, low-income couples/parents who were unmarried at the conception of their child. All variables were measured when children were approximately 36 months of age. Interparental conflict was assessed through an instrument that included both parents' reported conflict in the relationship and the perception of the other parent's conflict behaviors. Parenting behaviors were measured through observational data and coparenting alliance was based on mothers' and fathers' reports. As expected, path analyses revealed that destructive interparental conflict was related to lower levels of coparenting alliance, whereas constructive interparental conflict was related to higher levels of coparenting alliance, for mothers and fathers. For fathers only, destructive interparental conflict related to harsh parenting, suggesting that paternal parenting is vulnerable to the quality of the relationship with the mother. None of the proposed associations differed by family structure. These findings suggest the need for intervention programs to focus on promoting adaptive conflict management behaviors rather than on family structure. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

[Childcare burdens perceived by mothers with an inter-pregnancy interval less than 12 months].

Objectives　The aims of this study were to investigate perceived childcare burdens among mothers with an inter-pregnancy interval of less than 12 months, and to identify the factors associated with those perceptions.Methods　Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires on inter-pregnancy intervals, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS), and the childcare emotion scale were distributed to mothers who visited one of three health and welfare centers in City A for three-month well-baby checkups. Six hundred eighty-five subjects were classified into four groups according to their inter-pregnancy interval (<12 months apart; ≥12 months but <24 months apart; ≥24 months apart; and a group with no siblings), and they was used to analyze associations between the timing of pregnancy and the mothers' perceptions of their childcare burdens. Chi-squared tests, a one-way analysis of variance, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and linear regression analyses were used for analysis.Results　The inter-pregnancy interval was <12 months in 35 of the 685 respondents, ≥12 months but <24 months in 114 respondents, and ≥24 months in 194 respondents. There were 342 respondents in the no-siblings group. Linear regression analyses disclosed some factors associated with the subordinate items of the childcare emotion scale. "Feeling restricted by childcare duties" is significantly correlated to inter-pregnancy interval (P=.032), family composition (P=.014), time of sleeping (P=.010), and night wake-up time (P=.001). "Feeling of burden because of the child's attitude and behavior" was significantly related to inter-pregnancy interval (P<.001), mother's age (P=.003), time of sleeping (P=.009), and night wake-up time (P=.002). "Anxiety about the child's growth" was significantly related to inter-pregnancy interval (P<.001), mother's age (P=.016), and gestational age (P<.001). In addition, the group with gestation intervals of less than 12 months had significantly higher numbers of women in single-parent households (P=.005), who were unmarried (P=.007), had only a junior high school education (P=.0027), and were 24 years old or younger (P<.001).Conclusion　The pregnancy interval is significantly related to the "Feeling restricted by childcare duties," "Feeling of burden because of the child's attitude and behavior," and "Anxiety about the child's growth," even after adjusting the influence of other factors. In addition, the results of this study demonstrated that mothers in the <12 months group were more likely to be in a single-parent household, unmarried, with low educational attainment, and were 24 years old or younger. The results suggest that greater support is needed for these mothers.

Food Insecurity and Maternal Mental Health among African American Single Mothers Living with HIV/AIDS in the Alabama Black Belt.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relationship between food insecurity and depression among African American low-income single mothers living with HIV/AIDS in rural Alabama. Food insecurity is a neglected variable in bioethics, biomedical, behavioral, and health disparities research. METHODS: Regression analyses of data from a survey of African American single mothers living with HIV/AIDS in Alabama's Black Belt were used to evaluate the association between food insecurity and depression. RESULTS: As determined by the USDA food insecurity scale, about 53% of the sample was classified as food insecure. In the bivariate regression model, food insecurity was associated with depression. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, food insecurity remained positively associated with depression in this sample. CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity places low-income African American women at risk of depression. Given widespread poverty among HIV-positive individuals in the Black Belt, access to food should be considered in HIV-related prescriptions and in health disparities research.

What if I had not fallen from grace? Psychological distress and the gap between factual and counterfactual subjective social status.

The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that the discrepancy between factual and counterfactual subjective social status (DCS) relates to psychological distress beyond the effect of current (i.e., factual) subjective and objective social status. Participants were 124 single mothers (Study 1) and 310 persons who have become unemployed (Study 2). In both samples, higher DCS was related to more severe symptoms of stress and depression beyond the effect of current subjective and objective social status. Upward counterfactual thinking might be an additional psychological factor in the relationship between social inequality and health in socially deprived individuals.

A gender-focused analysis of structural and social precipitators to child institutionalization in Azerbaijan: A qualitative study.

Deinstitutionalization reforms in the post-Soviet region-the region with the highest rate of institutional care worldwide-are aimed at reducing the number of children in institutions. To develop context-specific gatekeeping strategies and prevent new cohorts of children from entering institutions, it is crucial to understand the local factors that contribute to institutional placement. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explores the contexts of institutional placement of children in Azerbaijan from their caregivers' perspectives. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews of the parents and primary caregivers (N = 26) of children placed in the institutional care system in Azerbaijan. Using systematic thematic analysis with inductive coding, we identified caregivers' reasons for placing children in the system, and inferred the life circumstances that led parents-women in particular-to be more likely to place their children in institutions. Our findings reveal multiple, gendered pathways that contribute to such placement. The majority of caregivers were single mothers, many of whom had divorced their husbands in response to domestic violence (often attributed to the husband's substance addiction). The strong stigma against divorce led women to be ostracized by close family members, often leaving them without economic and social support. Because of the limitations of public benefits available in the region, publicly-funded child institutions are often the only remaining way to provide education and care for their children. This qualitative study shows the importance of addressing the social and economic needs of parents, single mothers in particular, to prevent child institutional placement in the post-Soviet Caucasus region.

Does maternal attachment to her infant mediate the link between perceptions of infant crying at 6 months and parenting stress at 24 months? A structural equation modelling approach.

BACKGROUND: Parenting stress is influenced by many factors including maternal attachment and excessive infant crying, yet the nature of these relationships is not well understood. For example, excessive infant crying despite maternal soothing may impact maternal attachment to the child, leading to higher stress. This paper explored whether maternal perception of excessive infant crying at 6 months was associated with higher maternal parenting stress at 24 months, and whether maternal attachment mediated this relationship. METHODS: All families, present at 24 months in a randomized controlled trial of a 5-year early intervention programme targeting school readiness skills in disadvantaged area of Ireland, were included. At 6 months, infant crying was assessed using a maternal reported measure of duration of infant crying, and maternal attachment to the infant was assessed using the Condon Maternal Attachment Scale. Parenting stress was assessed at 24 months using the childrearing stress subscale from the Parenting Stress Index. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the direct and indirect effects of maternal perceptions of excessive infant crying on parenting stress, controlling for infant, maternal, and environmental characteristics, and focusing on the mediating role of maternal attachment. RESULTS: Reporting excessive infant crying at 6 months was associated with lower maternal attachment at 6 months, which led to higher parenting stress at 24 months. In addition, vulnerable adult attachment style, previous maternal mental health difficulties, low paternal education, paternal involvement with the child, and not being married were associated with higher parenting stress. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that the association between maternal perceptions of excessive crying at 6 months and later parenting stress may be mediated through maternal attachment to the infant. Interventions based on improving maternal attachment could be investigated to determine the effectiveness of supporting mothers with low attachment.

Mental health in young mothers, single mothers and their children.

BACKGROUND: Parenthood is a life transition that can be especially demanding for vulnerable individuals. Young maternal age and maternal single status have been reported to increase the risk for adverse outcomes for both mother and child. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of young maternal age and maternal single status on maternal and child mental health and child development at age 3. METHODS: A birth-cohort of 1723 mothers and their children were followed from birth to age 3. Sixty-one mothers (3.5%) were age 20 or younger, and 65 (4.0%) reported single status at childbirth. The mothers filled out standardized instruments and medical information was retrieved from the standardized clinical assessment of the children at Child Welfare Centers, (CWC). RESULTS: Young maternal age was associated with symptoms of postpartum depression whereas single status was not. Young mothers were more prone to report internalizing and externalizing problems in their children, while there was no association between single status and child behavioral problems. No differences were seen on child development (CWC scores). School drop-out was, however, a more influential factor on depressive symptoms postpartum than maternal age. CONCLUSION: Young mothers are at increased risk for symptoms of postpartum depression which indicates the need for attention in pre- and postnatal health care programs. Single mothers and their children were not found to be at increased risk for adverse outcomes. The importance of schooling was demonstrated, indicating the need for societal support to encourage adolescents to remain in school.

Mothers' well-being, parenting attitudes, and home environment: Cumulative risk and parity in early motherhood.

BACKGROUND: This study explores mothers' wellbeing, experiences, and attitudes and the impact of cumulative demographic and antenatal risks and parity on parenting outcomes. A secondary aim was to assess mother and infant service utilisation. METHOD: This study involved an assessment of the baseline characteristics of a sample of mothers (N = 190; Mean age = 31.6 years, SD = 5.4) with young infants (average age = 10.13 weeks, SD = 0.8) living in disadvantaged communities in Ireland. RESULTS: Mothers with more risk factors (e.g., lone and/or teenage parenthood, socioeconomic disadvantage, and low social support) reported significantly higher levels of depression and lower parental self-efficacy. Observations of the home environment indicated that at-risk parents engaged in less cognitive stimulation and lower levels of emotional support for their child. The impact of these risk factors differed for primiparous and multiparous mothers. CONCLUSIONS: At-risk mothers are more susceptible to mental health difficulties and poorer parenting outcomes during the transition to parenthood. This study also provides important comparative insights into experiences of primiparous and multiparous parents. These findings have important implications for practitioners and policy makers, particularly the provision of universal and proportionate supports to prevent and/or interrupt poor parent-child relationships and negative developmental outcomes.

Dual Versus Single Parental Households and Differences in Maternal Mental Health and Child's Overweight/Obesity.

Objectives Mothers report higher levels of psychological stress than fathers. s. Psychological stress is posited to influence parenting practices that could increase children's obesity risk. However, previous studies have not investigated several aspects of maternal mental health and the moderating role of household structure on children's obesity risk. The objective was to investigate associations of maternal mental health with child obesity risk, and whether these associations differed by household structure (single-parent vs. dual parent/multigenerational). Methods Mothers and their 8-12 year old children (N = 175 dyads) completed baseline questionnaires on mothers' mental health and child anthropometrics. Separate logistic regressions assessed associations of standardized maternal mental health indicators with the odds of child overweight/obesity, controlling for child age, and women's BMI, age, education, employment status, and annual income. Household structure was investigated as a moderator of these relationships.Results There were no statistically significant relationships between maternal mental health characteristics and odds of child overweight/obesity. Among single mothers only, greater anxiety was associated with higher risk of child overweight/obesity [OR (95% CI) = 3.67 (1.27-10.62); p = 0.0163]; and greater life satisfaction was marginally associated with lower risk of child overweight/obesity [OR (95% CI) = 0.44 (0.19-1.01); p = 0.0522]. Mothers' life satisfaction may lower risk for their children's overweight/obesity, whereas higher anxiety may increase this risk, particularly among children living in single-mother households. Conclusions for Practice Future interventions could increase resources for single mothers to buffer the effects of stress and lower pediatric obesity risk.

Lesbians' experiences and attitudes towards parenthood in Greece.

Same-sex parenthood is controversial subject. In this paper, we provide insights into the attitudes and experiences of self-reported lesbians regarding parenthood or the prospect of becoming a parent in the current Greek social and cultural context. In Greece, lesbians are not allowed access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), while a solitary ('single') woman is allowed access for medical reasons. Fifty-nine (59) semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with women. What emerged from our data was a clear trend for participants to wish to have their own biological children based mostly on the belief that pregnancy would lead to a sense of self-completeness and/or fulfilment. Women also reported the negative impact of prejudice and social oppression on their reproductive autonomy. Interviewees reported that their reproductive choices were negatively influenced by their family and the wider socio-cultural environment. Even within a semi-permissive legal framework, impaired social acceptance of lesbian parenthood prohibits lesbians from becoming mothers. A major reason responsible for the positive attitude of most participants to shared biological motherhood was an altruistic attitude towards their partners.

Childcare Instability and Maternal Depressive Symptoms: Exploring New Avenues for Supporting Maternal Mental Health.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated links between childcare experiences-specifically, care instability and mothers' perceptions of care access-and maternal depressive symptoms in an effort to illuminate policy-amenable mechanisms through which childcare experiences can support maternal mental health. METHODS: Data were taken from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. We used regression models with lagged dependent variables to estimate associations between aspects of childcare instability and perceptions of care availability and maternal depressive symptoms. We did so on the full sample and then on subgroups of mothers for whom childcare instability may be especially distressing: mothers who are low income, working, single, or non-native speakers of English. RESULTS: Childcare instability-length in months in the longest arrangement and number of arrangements-was not associated with maternal depressive symptoms. However, mothers' perceptions of having good choices for care were associated with a reduced likelihood of clinical depressive symptoms, even after controlling for prior depressive symptoms and concurrent parenting stress; this latter association was observed both in the full sample (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.63-0.96) and among subgroups of employed mothers (AOR = 0.71; CI = 0.57-0.87) and single mothers (AOR = 0.72; CI = 0.52-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Although dimensions of care instability did not associate with maternal depressive symptoms, mothers' perceptions of available care options did. If replicated, findings would highlight a previously unconsidered avenue-increasing care accessibility and awareness of available options-for promoting maternal mental health in a population likely to experience depression but unlikely to be treated.