University College South Denmark, Applied Research and Development, Lembckesvej, Haderslev, 6100, Denmark; University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Clinical Research, Research Unit of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Kløvervænget 10, Odense C., 5000, Denmark.
University College South Denmark, Department of Physiotherapy, Degnevej, Esbjerg Ø, 6705, Denmark.
Women Birth. 2020 May;33(3):e266-e273. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2019.05.009. Epub 2019 Jun 6.
Pregnancy and childbirth are important life experiences that entail major changes, both physically, psychologically, socially and existentially for women. Motherhood transition and the accompanying bodily changes involve expectations of body image that are simultaneously naturally and socially produced and culturally informed by public, private and professional discourses about motherhood transition.
Much focus is levelled at the antepartum body in maternity services whereas the postpartum body seems left alone, although bodily dissatisfaction is of concern for many mothers, whose expectations of bodily appearance postpartum are sharp and explicit.
To explore Danish first-time mothers' experiences of their body postpartum, focusing on body image.
Eleven first-time mothers participated in semi-structured interviews related to the postpartum body image. Data was analysed thematically.
Four themes: (1) Reverting the body: on bouncing back and losing weight; (2) Picturing me: on standards of beauty and ideal bodies; (3) Redefining earlier self-images: on meta-reproachment of the body; (4) Idealisation of not looking like a mother: on societal pressure to think positively. Findings were discussed through the theoretical concepts by Scheper-Hughes and Lock: the body as both individual, social and political.
Despite nuanced reflections over the body as subject and object, women identified beauty as a personal trait dependent on visual appearance. Bodily beauty was identified as something individual, yet standardised. Women felt strengthened through motherhood but looking like a mother was not considered worth pursuing. To allow for women's contradictory perspectives, caregivers are advised to communicate reflexively about the postpartum body.
怀孕和分娩是女性经历的重要生命阶段，会带来身体、心理、社会和存在方面的重大变化。母亲身份的转变和随之而来的身体变化涉及到身体形象的期望，这些期望既是自然产生的，也是社会产生的，同时受到关于母亲身份转变的公共、私人和专业话语的文化影响。
在产妇服务中，很多关注点都集中在产前身体上，而产后身体似乎被忽视了，尽管许多母亲对身体不满，但她们对产后身体外观的期望是明确而明确的。
探讨丹麦初产妇产后身体的体验，重点是身体形象。
11 名初产妇参与了与产后身体形象相关的半结构化访谈。数据进行了主题分析。
四个主题：（1）恢复身体：恢复和减肥；（2）想象我：美丽标准和理想身体；（3）重新定义早期自我形象：对身体的元反驳；（4）理想化不象母亲：对积极思考的社会压力。研究结果通过 Scheper-Hughes 和 Lock 的理论概念进行了讨论：身体既是个体的，也是社会和政治的。
尽管对身体作为主体和客体有细微的反思，但女性将美丽定义为个人特质，取决于视觉外观。身体美被认为是个人的，但又是标准化的。女性通过成为母亲而感到强大，但看起来像母亲并不值得追求。为了允许女性有矛盾的观点，建议护理人员对产后身体进行反思性沟通。
