Women are the thread

Keetoowah elders’ experiences of becoming a mother

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15098313
AutoresDecember Maxwell (0000-0001-6609-7026, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, The University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, autor correspondente), Paul Conrad (History, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA)
Ano2023
Volume25
Fascículo10
Páginas1355-1370
Data de publicação2023-10-03
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2022.2156618
PMID36527451
OpenAlexW4311820948
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas26

Becoming a mother can simultaneously be a shared experience while having cultural distinctions. Indigenous motherhood, for example, has been heavily influenced by colonisation, medicalisation and Western imperialism. Historical and generational trauma has contributed to shifts in Indigenous practices surrounding becoming a mother and a disconnection from traditional birthing practices that has impacted maternal mental health. Nevertheless, recovering traditions can be beneficial for contemporary Indigenous mothers. This study utilised a culturally appropriate method, Story Inquiry. Using this approach, the paper coalesces community stories about a health challenge across time to better understand elders' experiences of becoming a mother in one Indigenous tribe, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee. The results of this inquiry illustrate the acute effects of colonialism and the historical trauma that resulted from it on Keetoowah experiences of Becoming a Mother and the cultural transmission of practices and beliefs surrounding maternal role transition. At the same time, it demonstrates the strategies that have shaped women's experiences of motherhood and made possible community persistence: especially the relationships between female kin within the Keetoowah tribe that have been integral to tribal resilience. Findings stress the value of healthcare approaches that include cultural traditions surrounding becoming a mother and more culturally informed perinatal care

Cherokee · Colonialism · Disconnection · Historical trauma · Indigenous · Lived experience · Political science · Psychotherapist · Sociology · Tribe · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Ecology