Elisabeth Wahn - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Elisabeth Wahn

Journal of Women’s Health, Issues & Care, 2014

Becoming a mother is life-changing requiring development of knowledge and sensitivity toward the ... more Becoming a mother is life-changing requiring development of knowledge and sensitivity toward the needs of the baby. When offering support professionals need knowledge about mother-infant interaction and the becoming-a-mother process.

Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 2015

Comparative research on parenting styles among Nordic and Mediterranean countries is still missin... more Comparative research on parenting styles among Nordic and Mediterranean countries is still missing, despite the increasing number of studies on parenting styles in adolescence. This study explores similarities and differences in adolescents' retrospective perceptions of parenting styles, for both parents, in Sweden, Italy and Greece, using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. In particular, it examines the relation between parental role, adolescent gender, country of origin, SES and these perceptions. Swedish, Italian and Greek adolescents (N = 702; 30.9% Swedish, 39.6% Italian and 29.5% Greek) participated in the study. To test the principal effects three mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVAs were conducted separately for each parenting style. To verify the interaction effects, a mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVA was tested on authoritative style. Regarding authoritarian and permissive two mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece) ANOVAs were tested. Mothers, as compared to fathers, were perceived as more authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. Moreover, boys perceived their parents as more authoritarian and more permissive than girls. Swedish parents were perceived as significantly less authoritarian than Italian and Greek parents and more permissive than Italian parents; Greek parents were perceived as less authoritarian and more permissive than Italian parents. The study provides an interesting contribution to parenting styles literature, showing how country legislation concerning family matters and SES are related the perception of parenting behaviours.

Health care for women international, Jan 23, 2015

We studied the experience of professional support among first-time mothers in relation to a scale... more We studied the experience of professional support among first-time mothers in relation to a scale measuring professional support in maternity care. We used a qualitative study with both an inductive and deductive approach and interviewed nine mothers. Our findings, both inductive and deductive, suggest that first-time mothers expect professional support in their transition into motherhood, building a bridge between two worlds. Important for good support was first meeting, acknowledging individual needs and supporting partner participation. Maternity care should be organized with focus on availability and professional support for mothers and increase participation of their partners. Our scale of measurement can be useful but needs some development.

Journal of Nursing & Care, 2015

Background: Pregnancy can be physically and emotionally stressful for the parents, which means th... more Background: Pregnancy can be physically and emotionally stressful for the parents, which means they need adequate professional support. Easy-to-use, validated scales are important in order to develop professional support in Antenatal care as well as in research.

ABSTRACT This research is part of a broader cross-cultural study investigating Italian and Swedis... more ABSTRACT This research is part of a broader cross-cultural study investigating Italian and Swedish adolescents’ attitudes and behaviours toward sexuality, pregnancy and parenthood. This exploratory study was aimed, in particular, at investigating Italian adolescents’ attitudes toward sexuality focusing on their contraceptive self efficacy. Moreover, adolescents’ contraceptive self efficacy will be studied as an outcome of personal (i.e. gender, age, engagement in a stable relationship, self-esteem/sense of invulnerability, omnipotence and personal uniqueness) and familiar (parenting styles) variables. Participants were 300 adolescents, aged 13-19 and equally balanced for gender, attending different high schools in northern Italy. Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) will be performed to evaluate the structure and consistency in the Italian sample of a revised version of Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Instrument (Kvalem & Træen, 2000) originally developed by Levinson (1986). Correlations and regression models will be performed to assess the influence played by personal and familiar variables on contraceptive self efficacy. Analyses are underway

Journal of Nursing and Care, 2012

International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 2012

Support in labour has an impact on the childbirth experience as well as on childbirth outcomes. B... more Support in labour has an impact on the childbirth experience as well as on childbirth outcomes. Both social and professional support is needed. The aim of this study was to explore professional support offered by midwives during labour in relation to the supportive needs of the childbearing woman and her partner. The study used a qualitative, inductive design using triangulation, with observation followed by interviews. Seven midwives were observed when caring for seven women/couples in labour. After the observations, individual interviews with midwives, women, and their partners were conducted. Data were analysed using hermeneutical text interpretation. The results are presented with three themes. (1) Support as a professional task seems unclear and less well defined than medical controls. (2) Midwives and parents express somewhat different supportive ideas about how to create a sense of security. (3) Partner and midwife interact in support of the childbearing woman. The main interpretation shows that midwives' supportive role during labour could be understood as them mainly adopting the "with institution" ideology in contrast to the "with woman" ideology. This may increase the risk of childbearing women and their partners perceiving lack of support during labour. There is a need to increase efficiency by providing support for professionals to adopt the "with woman" ideology.

Nursing Research and Practice, 2013

Objectives. The objective of this study was to describe first-time mothers' experiences and refle... more Objectives. The objective of this study was to describe first-time mothers' experiences and reflections of their first birth. Study Design. This study is a part of a larger study which was carried out in southwestern Sweden in 2008. A qualitative method with content analysis was chosen for this study. The unit of data was 14 written narratives from the first-time mothers. Results. The theme "To be empowered increases first-time mothers' chances for a positive birth experience" crossed over into all the three categories: "To trust the body and to face the pain, " "Interaction between body and mind in giving birth," and "Consistency of support. " Conclusion. In order to feel confident in their first childbirth, the women wanted to be confirmed and seen as unique individuals by the professionals and their partner. If professionals responded to the individual woman's needs of support, the woman more often had a positive birth experience, even if the birth was protracted or with medical complications.

Midwifery, 2007

to describe Swedish midwives&amp;#39; reflections on their experiences of caring for teen... more to describe Swedish midwives&amp;#39; reflections on their experiences of caring for teenage girls during pregnancy and childbirth. a hermeneutical approach was used, with focus-group discussions as the method of data collection. three focus-group discussions were conducted in a county comprising urban, suburban and rural districts in south-western Sweden. a voluntary sample of 24 midwives, aged 32-61 years, who were caring for women in different birth settings, participated in 2004. two main themes, with three sub-themes each, were generated by the midwives: (1) the teenage mother, as &amp;#39;teenagers who are proud of becoming mothers&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;teenagers who are unprepared for becoming mothers&amp;#39; and &amp;#39;teenagers with an immigrant background&amp;#39;, and (2) &amp;#39;the midwives&amp;#39; wish to care for the teenage mother&amp;#39;, as &amp;#39;taking the teenage mother seriously&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;being an important person for the teenage mother&amp;#39;, and &amp;#39;being a help for the teenage mother&amp;#39;. the findings provide some understanding of the unique characteristics of caring for teenage mothers. For the midwives, the most important aspects of caring for the teenage mother included taking the teenage mother seriously, allowing the midwife herself to become an important person for the teenage mother, and being a help to the mother. This help requires the midwife to balance the different needs of each teenage mother.

Midwifery, 2011

to explore how first-time fathers describe requested and received support during a normal birth. ... more to explore how first-time fathers describe requested and received support during a normal birth. qualitative research design. Ten first-time fathers were interviewed during the first postpartum week. Individual open-ended interviews were used to explore the fathers' descriptions, and the interviews were analysed using qualitative analysis. a labour ward at one hospital in a south-western county of Sweden in November and December 2006. first-time fathers who had experienced a normal birth at the hospital during the study period. the support described is presented as one main theme, 'being involved or being left out', which included four underlying categories: 'an allowing atmosphere', 'balancing involvement', 'being seen' and 'feeling left out'. fathers perceived that they were given good support when they were allowed to ask questions during labour, when they had the opportunity to interact with the midwife and their partner, and when they could choose when to be involved or to step back. Fathers want to be seen as individuals who are part of the labouring couple. If fathers are left out, they tend to feel helpless; this can result in a feeling of panic and can put their supportive role of their partner at risk. the results of this study could initiate discussions about how health-care professionals can develop support given to the labouring couple, with an interest in increasing paternal involvement.

… Journal of Nursing …, 2012

Mothers' perception of their relationship with their baby might affect sensitive parenting. This ... more Mothers' perception of their relationship with their baby might affect sensitive parenting. This study aimed to explore first time mothers' feelings for and their relation to the baby associated with how they responded to the "mother to infant relation and feelings (MIRF) scale" as a step in the validation process of the scale. Interviews with ten first-time mothers, three days after birth, were performed, using open questions followed by questions directly from the MIRF scale items. An inductive and deductive approach inspired by the "Think aloud" method guided the study. Results describe main category; New mothers bewilderment and anticipation which contained four categories; Natural and great but mixed, Maternal instinct and kinship, Ability and expectations and Not yet for real. When mothers responded to MIRF scale items they describe talking to their baby which they did not in their open answers. Answering the MIRF scale helped mothers in differentiating between their own mixed feelings of becoming mothers and their relation to and feelings for the baby. The MIRF scale appears valid in reflecting important aspects of mothers' feelings for and relation to their baby. The MIRF scale could be used in research and when evaluating care routines as well as in dialogue with new mothers to support mother-to-infant interactions.

Health Care for Women International, 2005

Our aim in this study was to describe the perspectives, experiences, and reasoning about becoming... more Our aim in this study was to describe the perspectives, experiences, and reasoning about becoming and being a teenage mother by Swedish teenage girls. Twenty pregnant and parenting teenage girls, aged 15 to 19 years, were interviewed. The teenagers described a pattern of early childbirth in their families, lack of opportunity in life, and ambivalence in contraceptive use as reasons for becoming a teenage mother. They experienced being pregnant and a teenage mother as both a positive transition into adulthood but also as a physiological and psychological hardship. Furthermore, the teenagers emphasized the importance of supportive relationships with families, friends, and society as a prerequisite for successful parenting. The results of our study may be viewed as generating a working hypothesis that can be transferred to other settings on the basis of the information gathered.