The warm glow of motherhood; exploring the moods of new mothers through imagery

Motherhood marks a new beginning, which like all beginnings, can commence on unsteady emotional ground. The purpose of this research was to explore first-time mothers' experiences through the lens of a creative existential framework to provide a deeper understanding of emotion and mood in this period. Eight first-time mothers, with babies between the age of 6-18 months at the time of recruitment, volunteered to create an image of their experience of motherhood while thinking about their moods and emotions. Semi- structured interviews were conducted, with the created images used as the focus of the interview. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was adopted as the main methodological approach, with an additional analysis of the images completed using an adapted existential framework. From the analysis six superordinate themes were delineated 1. Surprise of Motherhood, 2. Bonding. 3.Existential Shift of Emotions. 4. The Mammy Worry. 5. Identity Formation, and 6. Managing Motherhood. The co-researcher's images and narratives emphasised the various maternal realities that they faced, which often left the mothers in a state of surprise. The experience of bonding, as well as the reality of shifting emotions and mood, were central to the experiences of the mothers. Preoccupations with existential questions came to the fore. The practical and emotional ways in which they managed motherhood and the role of social connections were also crucial to the mothers' lived experiences. The implications of this research point to a need for greater understanding of the inner realities of motherhood and the disconnect with the myth of idealised motherhood. The implications of recognising difficult feelings in light of the normal but difficult experiences of motherhood. Moreover, mothers need to be offered support, in recognition of how the experience shifts and changes over time and what that means for a mother's personal, physical, social, and spiritual development.