Exploring the experiences and strategies for promoting the well-being of first-time Black Canadian women transitioning to motherhood: A community-based participatory study protocol

TL;DR

This study explores the challenges and support needs of first-time Black Canadian mothers during their transition to motherhood to improve their well-being and inform supportive policies.

Contribution

The study introduces a community-based participatory approach to understand the unique experiences of first-time Black Canadian mothers in transitioning to motherhood.

Findings

First-time Black mothers face unique structural and socio-cultural barriers during the transition to motherhood.

Community-based strategies can help translate findings into actionable support for Black mothers.

The study will inform policies on parental leave and childcare accessibility for Black mothers.

Abstract

The arrival of a first child is often a transformative and joyful period filled with excitement, but it can also be an overwhelming and isolating experience, especially for first-time mothers facing structural and socio-economic disadvantages. Negative experiences during the early transition to motherhood may contribute to poor maternal mental health and affect the trajectory of infant development. Thus, supporting this journey is critical, yet there is a paucity of research on the experiences and support needs of first-time Black Canadian women transitioning to motherhood.

The overall objective of this proposed study is to explore the experiences of transitioning to motherhood and to identify the contextual, sociocultural, and structural conditions that facilitate and or impede healthy transitions among first-time Black Canadian mothers.

This proposed study will employ a two-phase critical exploratory qualitative design guided by intersectionality, community cultural wealth, and a socio-ecological framework to explore the perspectives of first-time Black mothers on the contextual, cultural, and structural conditions that facilitate or impede healthy transition to motherhood.

We will also draw on community-based participatory methods to engage them in translating the findings into accessible and actionable strategies to inform programs, interventions, and policies to support their transition needs. In collaboration with our community partner, six focus groups and 12 individual interviews will be conducted with first-time Black mothers from across Ontario. Data will be analysed using thematic analysis.

Most research on transition to motherhood has been conducted with white middle-class women. Understanding how Black mothers navigate their transition to motherhood through a complex array of entrenched systemic and racial inequities is critical to inform policy and development of interventions and programs to meet their transition needs including early screening of social and mental health risk factors.

This project has the potential to inform social policy as it relates to parental leave, workplace accommodation, and accessible childcare to support first-time Black mothers transitioning to motherhood.

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