Characteristics and perceived needs of mothers with serious mental illness.
This cross-sectional survey determined the prevalence of motherhood among severely mentally ill women hospitalized in an inner-city facility and examined the demographic characteristics and perceived needs of the 32 mothers who were identified. Slightly less than one-quarter of these mothers had seen their children within the last week, and only about 20 percent maintained full custody of their children. However, none of the respondents reported feeling that it was unimportant whether they continued mothering their children. Approximately half described needing help in dealing with their sadness about their children. The pilot data presented in this paper suggest that motherhood is common among severely mentally ill and hospitalized women and that issues relevant to mothering remain important to them.
Joseph
J G
JG
Center for Health Services and Clinical Research of the Children's Research Institute at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA. jjoseph@cnmc.org
Joshi
S V
SV
Lewin
A B
AB
Abrams
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires