COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if o changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your o contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za (Accessed: Date). STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MARRIED COUPLES THROUGHOUT THE ANTE- AND POST NATAL PERIOD by VASTI VAN NIEKERK THESIS submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR CURATIONIS In PSYCHIATRIC AND MENTAL HEALTH NURSING SCIENCE In the DEPARTMENT OF NURSING SCIENCE In the FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES Of the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG SUPERVISOR: PROF M POGGENPOEL CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF CPH MYBURGH 2013 DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my husband, Llewellyn van Niekerk and my twins, Reinhardt and Markus van Niekerk. “Somehow, out of all the twists and turns our lives could have taken, And out of all the chances we might have missed, It almost seems like we were given a meant-to-be moment… That turned out to mean the world to me.” Anonymous Thank you for meaning the world to me. I also dedicate this study to my parents, Gerrit and Heilie Odendaal who made the transition to parenthood effectively four times. I salute you. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Thank you for the grace in my life and for giving me the energy and determination in this journey. To all the people who were a part of the story of this finished research study. Thank you for being part of my “life story”. ii SUMMARY The overall goal of this research study was to explore and describe strategies in order to promote the mental health of married couples throughout the ante- and postnatal period. The majority of research on the transition to parenthood has found that as couples become parents, there is a dramatic decrease in positive marital interchanges, a dramatic increase in marital conflict and a precipitous decline in marital satisfaction (Belsky & Kelly, 1994; Belsky & Pensky, 1988: 133-156; Belsky, Spanier & Rovine, 1983: 567-577). The transition to parenthood is viewed as instigating a shift in the marriage whereby most couples are expected to experience a qualitative change in their relationship that is relatively abrupt (Pancer, Pratt, Hunsberger & Gallant, 2000: 253-280). Becoming a new parent poses challenges for nearly every married couple (Curran, Hazen, Jacobvitz & Feldman, 2005: 189). Becoming a parent is a major developmental transition of adulthood (Harwood, McLean & Durkin, 2007: 1). Individuals often have optimistic expectations about parenthood, yet this transition also presents a number of challenges (Harwood et al, 2007: 1). The questions that arose was what are the stories of married couples throughout the ante- and postnatal period of their first child, and what can be done by an advanced psychiatric nursing practitioner to promote the mental health of married couples based on their story. The researcher utilised a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design as described in Babbie (2010: 92). This research study was carried out in four phases. During the first phase of this research study, the researcher explored and described the stories of married couples throughout the ante- and postnatal period of their first child according to the quest narrative method described by Frank (1997: 115). The results were discussed within relevant literature. iii In the second phase of this research study the researcher developed a conceptual framework on the basis of the empirical data. The conceptual framework was developed according to the concepts as proposed by Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968: 435). The researcher described strategies, to promote the mental health of married couples throughout the ante- and postnatal period of their first child, in the third phase of this research study. These strategies were described according to a relationship phase, a working phase and a termination phase as part of the facilitation process. These three phases were discussed as part of a proposed facilitation process that forms part of the developed conceptual framework. In the fourth phase of this research study, the developed strategies were subjected to expert assessment according to the criteria stated by Chinn and Kramer (2011: 196-205). The findings of the research study are applicable to psychiatric nursing practice, research and psychiatric nursing education. iv LIST OF PICTURES AND FIGURES Figure 3.1: Relationship circle after the birth of a baby as experienced by a new father ........................................................................................................................ 56 Picture 3.1: The gift of love ....................................................................................... 84 Picture 3.2: The road of Rachel’s pregnancy ........................................................... 87 Picture 3.3: Rachel’s image of her pregnancy .......................................................... 89 Picture 3.4: The journey of Rachel’s pregnancy ....................................................... 90 Picture 3.5: Time is up .............................................................................................. 91 Picture 3.6: Emotional experiences in theatre .......................................................... 92 Picture 3.7: Overwhelming feelings after the birth of a baby .................................... 94 Picture 3.8: Experience a lack of control .................................................................. 95 Picture 3.9: Voiceless-ness ...................................................................................... 96 Picture 3.10: Loneliness ........................................................................................... 97 Picture 3.11: No chance to turn around .................................................................... 98 Picture 3.12: United in God’s protection ................................................................... 99 Picture 3.13: Feelings of acceptance and calmness .............................................. 100 Picture 3.14: Breastfeeding: The ultimate sign of motherhood ............................... 101 Picture 3.15: Expectation of alone-time for the new family. .................................... 102 Picture 3.16: Support people .................................................................................. 104 Picture 3.17: From life…into life ............................................................................. 105 Figure 4.1: Relationship circle after the birth of a baby as experienced by Johan in narrative 1 .............................................................................................................. 117 Figure 4.2: Relationship circle as experienced by Sarah in narrative 2 .................. 118 Figure 4.3: Relationship circle as experienced by Pieter in narrative 3 .................. 119 Figure 4.4: Relationship circle as experienced by Louisa in narrative 4 ................. 120 v Figure 5.1: The researcher’s thinking map ............................................................. 141 Figure 5.2: The conceptual framework for the strategies to facilitate a married couple’s mental health throughout the ante- and postnatal period of their first child. ............................................................................................................................... 151 vi APPENDICES Ethical clearance certificate .................................................................................. 1867 Consent form ........................................................................................................ 1889 vii
Description: