Postpartum Women's Perceptions of the Concept of Motherhood: A Metaphorical Study

Objective: The aim of this research is to discover postnatal women's conceptions of 'becoming a mother' using metaphors. Methods: The study was conducted using the phenomenological design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study's data were collected between 31 March 2023 and 29 June 2023 by utilizing a personal information form as well as a semi-structured interview form with 88 women living in Konya province, between 4-12 months postpartum, who voluntarily participated in the study. Each participant was asked to complete the sentence's blanks 'Being a mum.........because it's similar'. The data were analysed using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative research methods. Ethics committee permission was obtained to conduct the research. Results: When the participants' sociodemographic data were investigated, it was discovered that the average age was 28.28±4.93, 40.9% were university graduates or above, 75% lived in the provincial centre, 71.6% has a medium income, and 60.2% had a cesarean section. The participants were found to have produced 65 analogies pertaining to the idea of "motherhood." 86.15% of the metaphors associated with the idea of motherhood were found to be conceptualized as opinions. Conclusions: It shows that women in the postpartum period perceive the role of motherhood as a social and individual role positively. It is suggestion that nurses and midwives should support and contribute to the development of women's maternal role.