Purpose: The purpose of the study was to provide a greater understanding of the experience of the new Indonesian mother. Design: This study was a hermeneutic phenomenological study. Data were obtained from 13 first time Indonesian mothers through semi-structured interviews. Findings: Two main themes were identified: “trying to be a good mother “ and “confirming my destiny as a woman.” A number of subthemes were identified to understand of how women in rural West Java perceived the meaning of being a new mother. These themes and subthemes described the woman’s responsibilities as a new mother and some of the challenges that she accepted as a part of her destiny. Conclusion: This study provides nurses and others with insights into the experiences of Indonesian women with early motherhood, their feelings about taking on the mothering role, and some of their needs during this period.
BarclayL. M.LloydB. (1996). The misery of motherhood: Alternate approaches to maternal distress. Midwifery, 12, 136-139. doi:10.1016/s0266-6138(96)90057-1
2.
BarlowK. (2001). Working mothers and the work of culture in Papua, New Guinea. Ethos, 29, 78–107. Retrieved from www.jstor.org
3.
BhopalK. (1998). South Asian women in East London: Motherhood and social support. Women’s Studies International Forum, 21, 485–492.
4.
BrownS.LumleyJ.SmallR.AstburyJ. (1994). Missing voices: The experience of motherhood. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
5.
CorfieldJ. (2010). Indonesia. In O’ReillyA. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of motherhood (pp. 557-559). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781412979276.n281
6.
DarvillR.SkirtonH.FarrandP. (2010). Psychological factors that impact on a woman’s experiences of first-time motherhood: A qualitative study of the transition. Midwifery, 26, 357–366. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2008.07.006
7.
EmmanuelE.CreedyD. K.St. JohnW.GambleJ.BrownC. (2008). Maternal role development following childbirth among Australian women. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 64, 18–26. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04757.x
8.
FishbeinE. G.BurggrafE. (1998). Early postpartum discharge: How are mothers managing?Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological, and Neonatal Nursing, 27, 142–148. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.1998.tb02604.x
HishamshahM.bin RamzanM. S.RashidA.Wan MustaffW. H.HaroonR.BudaruddinN. B. (2011). Belief and practices of traditional post partum care among a rural community in Penang Malaysia. The Internet Journal of Third World Medicine, 9(2). doi:10.5580/49f
11.
HullT. H. (Ed.). (2005). People, population, and policy in Indonesia. Jakarta, Indonesia, & Singapore: Equinox Publishing.
12.
HunterC. L. (1996). Women as “good citizens”: Maternal and child health in a Sasak village. In RiceP. L.MandersonL. (Eds.), Maternity and reproductive health in Asian Societies (pp. 169–190). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Harwood.
13.
Klingberg-AllvinM.NguyenB.JohanssonA.BerggrenV. (2008). One foot wet and one foot dry: transition into motherhood among married adolescent women in rural Vietnam. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 19, 338–346. doi:10.1177/1043659608322419
14.
LavertyS. M. (2003). Hermeneutic phenomenology and phenomenology: A comparison of historical and comparative methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2, 21–35.
15.
LiamputtongP. (2006). Motherhood and “moral career”: Discourses of goodmotherhood among Southeast Asian immigrant women in Australia. Qualitative Sociology, 29(1), 25–53. doi:10.1007/s11133-005-9006-5
16.
LiamputtongP.YimyamS.ParisunyakulS.BaosoungC.SansiriphunN. (2004). When I become a mother!: Discourses of motherhood among Thai women in Northern Thailand. Women’s Studies International Forum, 27, 589–601. doi:10.1016/j.wsif2004.09.017
17.
LuptonD. (2000). A love/hate relationship: The ideals and experiences of first-time mothers. Journal of Sociology, 36, 50–63. doi:10.1177/14407833000
18.
MercerR.T. (2004). Becoming a mother versus maternal role attainment. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36, 226–232.
19.
MillerT. (2011). Transition to first-time motherhood. Practising Midwife, 14(2), 12–15.
20.
Murphy-GeissG. (2010). Islam and motherhood. In O’ReillyA. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Motherhood (pp. 585-590). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781412979276.n295
21.
NegaiF.-W.ChanS.HolyroydE. (2011). Chinese primiparous women’s experiences of early motherhood: Factors affecting maternal role competence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20, 1481–1489. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03415.x
22.
OakleyA. (1979). Becoming a mother. Oxford, England: Robinson.
23.
OkamotoM.MatsuokaM. (2009). Causal model structure analysis of emotional unrest in first time mothers faced with persistent infant crying 6–7 weeks postpartum. Asian Nursing Research, 3(1), 1–14. doi:10.1016/51976-1317(09)60011-6
24.
O’ReillyA. (2010). Encyclopedia of motherhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.413519781412079276
25.
RedshawM.MartinC. (2011). Motherhood: A natural progression and a major transition. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Pscchology, 29, 305-307. doi:10.1080/02646838.2011.639510
26.
SethiS. (1995). The dialectic in becoming a mother: Experiencing a postpartum phenomenon. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 9, 235–244.
27.
SevónE., (2011).“My life has changed, but his life hasn’t”: Making sense of the gendering of parenthood during the transition to motherhood. Feminism & Psychology, 22, 60–80. doi:10.1177/0959353511415076
28.
SuryadinataL.ArfinE. N.AnantaA. (2003). Indonesia’s population: Ethnicity and religion in a changing political landscape. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
29.
Tamis-LeMondaC. S.Kahana-KalmanR. (2009). Mothers’ views at the transition to a new baby: Variation across ethnic groups. Parenting: Science and Practice, 9(1–2), 36–55. doi:10.1080/15295190802656745
30.
TitaleyC. R.HunterC. L.DibleyM. J.HeywoodP. (2010). Why do some women still prefer traditional birth attendants? A qualitative study on delivery care services in West Java Province, Indonesia. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 10(43), 1–14. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/10/43
31.
UntoroR.HermiyantiS.SitumorangC.H.BasuniA. (2008, September). Healthy next generation: Strengthening joint collaboration between health and social welfare. Indonesian Country Report. Paper presented at the 6th ASEAN & Japan High Level Officials on Caring Societies, Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved from www.jicwels.or.jp/
32.
UtomoI. D. (2005). Women’s lives: Fifty years of change and continuity. In HullT. H. (Ed.), People, population, and policy in Indonesia (pp. 71–123). Jakarta, Indonesia: Equinox Publishing.
33.
van ManenM. (2007). Researching lived experience: Human science for action sensitive pedagogy. London, Ontario, Canada: Althouse.
34.
WolfD. L. (1992). Factory daughters: Gender, household dynamics, and rural industrialization in Java. Berkeley: University of California Press.
35.
WoollettA.PhoenixA. (1991). Psychological views of mothering. In PhoenixA.WoollettA.LloydE. (Eds.), Motherhood: Meanings, practices and ideologies (pp. 28–46). London, England: Sage.
