Becoming a mother without a mother
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Becoming a mother without a relationship with your own mother: experiences of maternal estrangement on the transition to motherhood and infant bonding
IRAS ID
362177
Contact name
Anja Wittkowski
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
Becoming a mother can be a difficult time for many of women as they attempt to forge a mothering identity and establish a bond with their baby. Women who have a physically or emotionally distant (estranged) relationship with their own mothers face particular challenges in their adjustment to motherhood due to an absence of emotional and practical support, and positive modelling of how to do mothering. Previous research has illustrated how maternally estranged women who become mothers themselves can feel as if they have to work harder to be a good parent, and hold fears about continuing a legacy of painful maternal relationships within their family. This may leave these women vulnerable to perinatal mental health difficulties, affect their confidence and effectiveness as a parent, and impact their bond with their baby, which could have negative knock-on effects for child development.
In the present study, we will seek to understand how women who are or have been maternally estranged experience the transition to motherhood and bonding with their babies. We will aim to establish whether/how these women feel their transition motherhood has been impacted by their experiences of maternal estrangement. A secondary aim will be to understand how women with experiences of maternal estrangement can be best supported during the perinatal period.
Eight to twelve participants will be recruited from local NHS perinatal mental health teams and third sector organizations. Interpersonal Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith et al., 2009) will be used to analyse one-off semi-structured interviews with each participant. Interviews are expected to last up to ninety minutes each.
It is hoped that findings from this study may contribute to an improved understanding of the specific needs of maternally-estranged mothers, and contribute to improved care to meet these needs within perinatal health care.REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0015
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion