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Mothers Make Art: Using participatory art to explore the transition to motherhood
Abstract
This article explores the use of visual methods to explore women’s experience of pregnancy, childbirth and the adjustment to motherhood in a British context; it is particularly interested in thinking about whether visual methods can help deliver new insights into these experiences
and what forms these might take. The work is not making universal claims about maternal experience, but rather is interested in the vibrancy, intensity and freshness that visual methods can bring to elucidate human experience.
... Secondly, the use of art materials can reveal in unexpected ways, so art making can be an act of revelatory self-discovery for participants. Project publications explore these processes in some depth (Hogan 2015 [1]; Hogan 2019 [3]; Hogan 2020 [4]. The Likert survey data is not very focussed on the process of art making per se. ...
Birth Shock! is an AHRC-funded (AH/K003364/1) engagement-focused project exploring and enhancing the impact and reach of The Birth Project (AH/V000926/1). This study is particularly concerned with the role the arts can play in the perinatal period, especially in supporting the wellbeing of new mothers. In particular, we wished to assess the role of a suite of films exploring this subject with trainee and health-professional audiences.
... 1 Drawing on narrative, visual, audio and experiential forms of artmaking, arts-based research can elucidate otherwise hidden knowledge as participants give meaning to their experiences in forms beyond the spoken or written word. [2][3][4][5] ABM can involve the integration of artmaking in the data collection process, often in conjunction with other more traditional data collection methods such as interviews, focus groups or ethnographic research. ABM can also be used in the research process to create, disseminate or translate research, often through exhibitions, installation or performance. ...
Background:
Arts-based methodologies and methods (ABM) can elicit rich and meaningful data with seldom-heard groups and empower participants in research. Young people with complex psychosocial needs could be better engaged in research using arts-based approaches to overcome communication and literacy issues as well as distrust of those with power, including researchers. A critical review of the use and impact of ABM among this population is timely. The purpose of this review is to synthesize and examine the experience and use of ABM with young people with complex psychosocial needs.
Methods:
A systematic narrative literature review was conducted with a search of the literature from 2009 to 2021. All abstracts were reviewed independently by two authors and full papers were screened for eligibility against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data synthesis focused on a descriptive numerical summary and a thematic analysis focused on key patterns across papers relating to the review objectives.
Results and discussion:
A total of 25 papers were included. The most common issues of focus were mental health (n = 10) and homelessness (n = 11) and methods using Photovoice (n = 12) and Body Mapping (n = 5). Individual interview data (n = 20) were the most commonly analysed, followed by created works (n = 19). Less than half the studies involved young people in the interpretation of the data collected. Knowledge translation was not described in almost half the studies, with public exhibits (n = 7) and forums with service providers (n = 4) being the most common activities. Key themes across the studies were valued over traditional methods in eliciting data, ABM as an approach to engage these young people in research and the impact of the use of ABM on participants and on key stakeholders through knowledge translation.
Conclusions:
The growing field of ABM presents opportunities to enhance research with young people with complex psychosocial needs by promoting meaningful exploration of experiences, engaging participants in research and strengthening knowledge translation. The involvement of young people in the interpretation of data and ensuring that knowledge translation occurs are key areas for future attention.
Patient or public contribution:
The findings of this review will inform future research to improve the engagement of young people with complex psychosocial needs in research and promote power sharing between researchers and research participants.
... However, women appear to value debriefing services, also known as birth listening and reflections, particularly women with high levels of PTSS (Meades et al., 2011;Baxter, 2019). Further birth trauma support strategies reported in the literature include: expressive writing (Di Blasio et al., 2015); sharing of birth stories online (Blainey and Slade, 2015); social support (Vesel and Nickasch, 2015); art therapy (Hogan, 2015); hypnosis (Slater, 2015); and information from websites, books and helplines (Thomson et al., 2017). ...
Aim
To examine health care practitioners’ views of the support women, partners, and the couple relationship require when affected by birth trauma, barriers to gaining such support, and potential improvements.
Background
Ongoing distress following psychologically traumatic childbirth, also known as birth trauma, can affect women, partners, and the couple relationship. Birth trauma can lead to post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or disorder (PTSD). Whilst there is a clear system of care for a PTSD diagnosis, support for the more prevalent experience of birth trauma is not well-defined.
Method
An online survey of health care practitioners’ views of the support parents require for birth trauma, barriers to accessing support, and potential improvements. Practitioners were recruited in 2018 and the sample for the results presented in the article ranged from 95 to 110.
Results
Practitioners reported differing needs of support for women, partners, and the couple as a unit. There was correlation between practitioners reporting having the skills and knowledge to support couples and feeling confident in giving support. The support most commonly offered by practitioners to reduce the impact on the couple relationship was listening to the couple. However practitioners perceived the most effective support was referral to a debriefing service. Practitioners observed several barriers to both providing support and parents accessing support, and improvements to birth trauma support were suggested.
Conclusions
Practitioners indicate that some women, partners, and the couple as a unit require support with birth trauma and that barriers exist to accessing effective support. The support that is currently provided often conflicts with practitioners’ perception of what is most effective. Practitioners indicate a need to improve the identification of parents who need support with birth trauma, and more suitable services to support them.
... The main idea of PIE is that, in addition to photography, there are in fact various other "sources" or points or reference available for elicitation (cf. Harper 2002), including film (Skjaelaaen et al. 2018;Gross and Levenson 1995), drawings and artwork (Hogan 2015;Bagnoli 2009), 3D objects in public displays (Du et al. 2018), visually impaired people "watching" or listening to television (Dim et al. 2016), and, as in the two cases examined in this chapter, mobile phones (Symons Downs 2018; Kaufmann 2018) and other digital devices such as tablets, laptops, smart televisions, and even blog posts consisting of both text and visual materials (Hänninen 2018). In this light, I argue that almost anything can serve as a point of reference for PIE just as long as it conveys meaning and relevance to the person participating in the research under the premises of the study in question. ...
Why do we need ethnography with a twist?
Current trends and experiments
Questions that remain: research ethics and reflexivity
Ethnography with a twist in action
***
Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist seeks to rethink ethnography ‘outside the box’ of its previous tradition and to develop ethnographic methods by critically discussing the process, ethics, impact and knowledge production in ethnographic research.
This interdisciplinary edited volume argues for a ‘twist’ that supports openness, courage, and creativity to develop and test innovative and unconventional ways of thinking and doing ethnography. ‘Ethnography with a twist’ means both an intentional aim to conduct ethnographic research with novel approaches and methods but also sensitivity to recognize and creativity to utilize different kinds of ‘twist moments’ that ethnographic research may create for the researcher.
This edited volume critically evaluates new and old methodological tools and their ability to engage with questions of power difference. It proposes new collaborative methods that allow for co-production and co-creation of research material as well as shared conceptual work and wider distribution of knowledge. The book will be of use to ethnographers in humanities and social science disciplines including sociology, anthropology and communication studies.
... However, women appear to value debriefing services, also known as birth listening and reflections, particularly women with high levels of PTSS (Meades et al., 2011;Baxter, 2019). Further birth trauma support strategies reported in the literature include: expressive writing (Di Blasio et al., 2015); sharing of birth stories online (Blainey and Slade, 2015); social support (Vesel and Nickasch, 2015); art therapy (Hogan, 2015); hypnosis (Slater, 2015); and information from websites, books and helplines (Thomson et al., 2017). ...
Background
Evidence shows that traumatic childbirth can cause ongoing distress, often referred to as birth trauma. This can have an impact on parents and the couple relationship, and consequently identifying and supporting parents with birth trauma is important to practice.
Aim
To investigate the experiences of health-care practitioners from the United Kingdom (UK) in assessment for birth trauma, perceived occurrence of birth trauma and observed impact on parents and the couple relationship.
Methods
An online survey of UK health-care practitioners working with parents in the first postnatal year.
Results
A sample of 202 practitioners reported identifying birth trauma in 34.4% of mothers and 25.0% of partners. Assessment for birth trauma was only conducted for 50.3% of mothers and 25.9% of partners. The most observed symptoms were re-experiencing among mothers (87.1%) and avoidance among partners (50.9%). Birth trauma was perceived as impacting on the couple relationship for 29.8% of mothers and 26.9% of partners. Written responses provided more detailed observations of the impact of birth trauma.
Conclusion
Understanding how birth trauma may present differently in mothers and partners could support effective assessment. Once birth trauma is identified, parents require personalised support to help them cope with the impact.
... The main idea of PIE is that, in addition to photography, there are in fact various other "sources" or points or reference available for elicitation (cf. Harper 2002), including film (Skjaelaaen et al. 2018;Gross and Levenson 1995), drawings and artwork (Hogan 2015;Bagnoli 2009), 3D objects in public displays (Du et al. 2018), visually impaired people "watching" or listening to television (Dim et al. 2016), and, as in the two cases examined in this chapter, mobile phones (Symons Downs 2018; Kaufmann 2018) and other digital devices such as tablets, laptops, smart televisions, and even blog posts consisting of both text and visual materials (Hänninen 2018). In this light, I argue that almost anything can serve as a point of reference for PIE just as long as it conveys meaning and relevance to the person participating in the research under the premises of the study in question. ...
Sensory ethnography is a reflexive and experiential process, in which the role of the researcher as embodied subject is crucial. It is based on the idea that all human beings are connected to materiality and the physical environment through their sensing bodies. At the core of sensory ethnography are sensory experiences (sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch), and their role in social practices and relations. By studying sensory experiences, one can find nonverbal and seemingly meaningless and self-evident information that affects our everyday life and practices. Although sensory and embodied dimensions are often acknowledged as part of ethnographic knowledge production, textbooks about ethnographic methods often lack information on how to conduct sensory observations and analyze them. In this chapter, we turn our attention to this process of gaining and sharing sensory knowledge. We scrutinize a a collaborative process of doing sensory ethnography and sharing the experience in written and verbal forms that took place in an experimental workshop at a conference where we invited the participants to explore how to use our senses to study the conference setting. Our chapter discusses the challenges that the participants of the experimental workshop faced in making sensory observations, reflecting on sensory experiences and writing about their experiences. The participants of the workshop were all scholars with varied multidisciplinary backgrounds.
... The main idea of PIE is that, in addition to photography, there are in fact various other "sources" or points or reference available for elicitation (cf. Harper 2002), including film (Skjaelaaen et al. 2018;Gross and Levenson 1995), drawings and artwork (Hogan 2015;Bagnoli 2009), 3D objects in public displays (Du et al. 2018), visually impaired people "watching" or listening to television (Dim et al. 2016), and, as in the two cases examined in this chapter, mobile phones (Symons Downs 2018;Kaufmann 2018) and other digital devices such as tablets, laptops, smart televisions, and even blog posts consisting of both text and visual materials (Hänninen 2018). In this light, I argue that almost anything can serve as a point of reference for PIE just as long as it conveys meaning and relevance to the person participating in the research under the premises of the study in question. ...
Background:
The transition to motherhood is a dynamic experience. Antenatal care and education are designed to support women during pregnancy, however childbearing women often report a further need for emotional and social support beyond preparation for birth. Broadening routine antenatal care to included art-based interventions may offer women an opportunity to explore important aspects of the transition to motherhood.
Aim:
The aim of this integrative review is to synthesise research regarding the use of art-based interventions with women during pregnancy.
Method:
A systematic integrative review of the current evidence-base was conducted. A multi-database keyword search was implemented, and a total of six articles met inclusion criteria. Results were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis framework.
Findings:
Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Three major themes were generated: art-based engagements supported women to express complex emotion, fostered a sense of connection and strengthened personal resourcefulness.
Discussion:
Creative expression provided an opportunity to explore important aspects of the motherhood experience including, complex emotion, identity and bonding with the unborn child. Being in a group enhanced the health effects of art-making and the social connection felt supportive when role and identity was evolving.
Conclusions:
Whilst research on the current topic is emergent, preliminary results suggest that facilitated art-based programs are valuable for pregnant women. Art-based experiences offer women a unique opportunity to explore the full dimensionality of the transition to motherhood which can contribute to improved health and wellbeing. These findings suggest that art-based programs may serve to complement existing antenatal care models.
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