Mothers’ Experiences Under NICU Visitation Restrictions Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Focusing on Related Social Forces

Abstract

　　Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitation restrictions were imposed even in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where parents and children are separated immediately after birth. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers who were separated from their babies for prolonged periods to investigate the motherhood process of mothers who experienced visitation restrictions and related social factors. The trajectory equifinality model (TEM) was used to identify the process by which a woman acknowledges motherhood, which is as follows: “Guilt and an awareness of motherhood as a result of contact with one’s baby,” “The loneliness of separation and convincing oneself,” “The joy of being reunited with one’s baby,” “Increased psychological distance from one’s baby due to separation,” and “A growing awareness of motherhood as a result of spending time with one’s baby.” As a social force that contributed to this process, separation due to visitation restrictions served as a restraining force, sometimes hampering a woman’s feeling that she was the mother of her baby. Even after she was reunited with her baby, the experience of past separation acted as a restraining force. However, in the time that she spent with her baby, the presence of the baby became a facilitating force that made the women aware of motherhood. At the same time, other processes were also at work. After the baby was discharged from the hospital, the mother felt that she did not understand her baby and she lost confidence as a parent. Therefore, further research on this subject needs to be conducted.