Exploring beliefs and expectations about motherhood in Bulgarian mothers: A qualitative study

Objective: to provide a methodologically robust and in-depth exploration of maternal expectations and beliefs in a non-clinical sample of Bulgarian mothers who described their ideas about motherhood postnatally. Design: qualitative study using face to face interviews for data collection. Setting: the cities of Sofia and Varna, Bulgaria. Participants: 10 women, 7 primiparae and 3 multipara, aged 28-32 years, who gave birth within the last 18 months. Methods: interviews were carried out using a semi-structured schedule. Discussions were audio-recorded with participants' consent, translated and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used under the contextualist theoretical framework. Findings: four general themes of women's expectations about motherhood were identified, concerning expectations of motherhood, parenting self-confidence, beliefs about the mother-infant dyad and anticipated social support. Findings suggest that there was a substantial discrepancy between expectations and the reality of motherhood, for primiparae and multipara mothers. Unrealistic expectations about motherhood were related to a more difficult postnatal adjustment, lowered self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy. Key conclusions and implications for practice: the way in which women view themselves as mothers during pregnancy can have a significant impact on their emotional well-being following birth. The implications of these findings are discussed with particular reference to promoting a successful adjustment to motherhood through appropriate antenatal care, focussing on maternal expectations about their new role. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.