Somatic Perspectives on Body Awareness and Identity Transformation in Postpartum Women

This study examined women’s somatic experiences of body awareness and identity reconstruction through pregnancy and childbirth. From a somatic perspective, the body was understood not as a biological object but as an active subject that generates meaning and shapes identity. Using Giorgi’s(1985) descriptive phenomenological method, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine women who had experienced childbirth. Analysis revealed a dynamic process of disconnection, crisis, and integration, represented by four themes: Encountering the unfamiliar body, The body within the social gaze, The wavering self between “mother” and “I”, and Reconciliation with the body and reconstruction of a mature self. These experiences formed the Spiral Growth Model, showing that postnatal bodily experience is not a linear recovery but a cyclical process of growth, where women re-encounter, reinterpret, and integrate bodily sensations into a deeper sense of self. The body thus became a somatic space for self-understanding and transformation rather than an object of loss. This study highlights the need for somatic and body-based approaches in postpartum care and counseling to foster body awareness and self-acceptance, emphasizing human growth as an embodied process.