The Existential Crisis of Motherhood

This book offers a new perspective on the motherhood experience. Drawing on existential philosophy and recent phenomenological research into motherhood, the book demonstrates how motherhood can be understood as an existential crisis. It argues that an awareness of the existential issues women face will enable mothers to gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted aspects of their experience. The book is divided into four sections: Existential Crisis, Maternal Mental Health Crisis, Social Crisis and Working with Existential Crisis, where each section. Each chapter is based on either experiential research or the author's extensive therapeutic experience of working with mothers and reflects different aspects of the motherhood journey, all through the lens of a philosophical existential approach. The book is essential reading for mental health practitioners and researchers working with mothers, midwives and health visitors, but it is also written for mothers, with the aim to offer newinsights on this important life transition. 

Offers an existential perspective on experiences of motherhood and maternal mental health

Part I Existential Crisis: The philosophical tensions of being a mother.- 1 Introduction; Claire Arnold-Baker.- 2 Motherhood is a confrontation with existence; Claire Arnold-Baker.- 3 The corporeal dimensions of motherhood; Julie McCarthy.- 4 Existential responsibility of motherhood; Victoria Garland.- 5 The existential freedom of mothers; Naomi Stadlen.- 6 Engaging with uncertainty and unresolved meanings during the transition to motherhood; Elizabeth Simmons.- Part II Maternal Mental Health Crisis: Understanding maternal mental health from an existential perspective.- 7 Through the lens of trauma: the experience of mothering a very premature baby in the first year after hospital discharge; Romy Shulman.- 8 Postnatal depression: An existential crisis?; Miriam Donaghy.- 9 Maternal postnatal depression: The father's experience; Farasat Sadia.- Part III Social Crisis: An existential understanding of the impact on motherhood of social and cultural aspects.- 10 Identity and mothering: The second generation of Ghanaian migrants; Jennifer Ofori.- 11 Motherhood and the traumatic death of one's child; Susan Harris.- 12 Trying to 'have-it-all', the choice of motherhood; Naomi Magnus.- 13 The experience of being a childfree woman; Josephine Coates-Davies.- Part IV Working with existential crisis in clinical practice.- 14 Exploring the moods of first-time mothers through imagery; Aoife Gaffney.- 15 Existential group work with mothers; Claire Arnold-Baker and Victoria Garland.- 16 Conclusion: The courage to be; Claire Arnold-Baker.