An Ethnographic Case Study on the Early Motherhood

초기 모성경험에 관한 질적 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the structure of maternal experiences. This study applies ethnographic case study, interview data were collected through in-depth interviews of 10 key interviewees. Findings were as follows: (1) Experiences of the body were about creating a new being through the pain of giving a birth and differed according to woman's self-evaluation of identity. (2) Child-rearing experiences marked a shift of position from a child to a parent. Interviewees experienced the hardhsip of life as a mother, its meanings differed according to the social context of interviewees. Child-rearing experiences meant a process of personal maturity. (3) Mother-child relationship shaped by child-rearing experiences, is a process of building meanings. It led to empathy and reinterpretation of her mother's life.