Introduction:

one of the main demands of mothers in paediatric primary care is to feel understood as they take on this new role. Objective: the study aims at exploring the experiences of motherhood described by a group of women to identify the aspects that need considering for the purpose of child health promotion.

Materials and methods:

we conducted a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. The sample consisted of seven mothers. The discussion groups were recorded and their contents transcribed for subsequent analysis. The latter was performed collaboratively following the methodology of open coding until theoretical saturation was achieved.

Results:

the most relevant experiences could be fitted into three categories. When it came to their relationship with their children, mothers highlighted that it gave them “happiness,” although they pointed out “work” as a significant barrier to it. When it came to themselves, they reported feeling “constant alarm,” “worried” and “fearful” in regard to childrearing and needing “time for themselves”. As for social support, they stated that while their partners were “involved,” they tended to “feel bad” in response to comments made by their own mothers and also “pressured” by paediatricians.

Conclusions:

emphasising communication skills during training could aid the development of doctor-patient rapport in paediatric primary care so that mothers can reflect on childrearing and not feel blamed, thus promoting adherence to paediatric recommendations and consequently child health.

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