Abstract:
Silent maternal melodies; A phenomenological narrative of infant abandonment in addicted womenMotherhood as a specific, objective, familiar, distinctive, universal, and sacred symbol has influenced various aspects of women's lives, and their gender identity is strengthened by playing this role. The aim of the present study is to provide the audience with a phenomenological understanding of the maternal experience among women with substance abuse. This study uses a qualitative method and is of the hermeneutic phenomenological type. The themes were obtained through semi-structured interviews with ten mothers with substance abuse who abandoned their infants at Mahdieh Hospital in Tehran in three consecutive months. The sample units in this study were conducted using purposive and accessible sampling and thematic analysis using the Dickelman method. Finally, using thematic analysis based on the Dickelman method, five main themes were extracted to express the lived experiences of mothers with substance abuse. The main themes in this study are; "Emotional freezing in the maternal experience", "identity dissociation", "service provider bias and structural stigma in the care of pregnant women who abuse drugs", "feeling of lack of agency in choice" and "experiencing emotional contradictions between dependence and separation". The results of the study showed that the construction of addicted mothers' own motherhoods has led to a renewal of concepts within motherhood for them and others.Keywords; Motherhood, mothers with substance abuse, phenomenology, lived experience,
Machine summary:
In the discussion of maternal responsibilities and the necessity of portraying a complete social body and personality of being maternal, observing maternal ethics, and striving to fulfill the maternal role regardless of social class, it is the expectation of the majority of people in the public sphere; consumer mothers, alongside their challenging lives with the issue of addiction, suffer double pressure for acceptance in the social arena; some avoid being stigmatized by refraining from expressing themselves regarding their child and their suppressed emotions, and they consign a strong part of their gender identity to oblivion or become involved in multiple emotional contradictions.
Power is an important element that defines dual genders and norms in societies; women, and especially mothers, due to the powerful inequality in the sphere of action and also the pressure 6| Social Work Scientific Research Quarterly | Year 11 | Number 41| Autumn 2024 The construction of motherhood as an evolved role of being a woman, they experience a different existence; the power of choice and the options available to mothers suffering from abuse to satisfy their instinctive and emotional needs, such as caring for the child, embracing, smelling, kissing their child, feeling peace of mind regarding the security of their child, etc.
Silva 16| Scientific Quarterly of Social Work Research | Year 11 | Number 41| Autumn 2024 Addressing the issue of infant relinquishment by women who use drugs in Iranian society, where the foundation of the family and the maternal role hold high cultural and value status, seems necessary.
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