The impact of motherhood on the everyday lives of women with children aged 0 to 4 years

Abstract

Introduction: Historically, the development of social roles has assigned women responsibility for domestic and family care. Since the Industrial Revolution, women’s working hours have increased, which has led to overload and occupational imbalance, especially among mothers. Objective: This study aimed to understand the impacts of motherhood on everyday life and on participation in meaningful occupations among mothers of children with typical development aged 0 to 4 years. Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive, and exploratory study used a predominantly qualitative approach, conducting in-depth individual interviews with nine mothers. Snowball sampling was used to recruit volunteers, and thematic content analysis was utilized as the data analysis strategy. Results: The results reveal occupational disengagement and significant impacts on everyday life, particularly in the children’s first year of life, as well as a marked disparity between men and women in the division of tasks related to childcare. Conclusion: These impacts result from several factors, including the imposition of gender stereotypes, the mental load associated with mothering, and inequality in the division of domestic and parental tasks; to bring about an effective reduction in maternal overload, structural and cultural changes in society are required.