Parental support: mothers' experience of electronic encounters

Abstract

Five mothers with normal pregnancies and healthy children met regularly during the infants' first year through an e-meeting portal. The technology made it possible to meet using realtime videoconferencing through the Web, both one to one and in groups. An experienced child-health nurse was the leader of the group. The intervention data included interviews and diary notes. Personal tape-recorded narrative interviews were conducted with the mothers, one midway through the study and one at the end. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the data and two major categories were identified: feeling support through confirmation and solidarity, and the technology presents possibilities and limitations. The mothers felt that sharing experiences with others was supportive and that having new friends reduced their feeling of loneliness. The mothers discussed the technology as fun and exciting. However, they were disturbed by sound problems and the realities of caring for an infant. The opportunity to meet other mothers in the same situation via electronic encounters and to share experiences of being a mother facilitated everyday life for these mothers.