Redefining Motherhood: Adaptation to Role Change for Women with AIDS

Abstract

To maintain their identity as mothers, a central life role, women with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) redefine motherhood in two ways: (1) when their health status changes, they emphasize tasks they are still able to perform; and (2) when their children are in the custody of others, they reframe motherhood as oversight of their children's well-being. Two issues trouble mothers with AIDS, especially those with drug-use histories: reunion with children previously placed outside the home or removed and conflictive relationships with adult children. Attempts to rectify these relationships are often unsuccessful. Social workers can assist mothers with AIDS retain this role by helping them acquire new parenting skills and develop mechanisms for maintaining meaningful connections with children who have been placed out of the home or adopted. They can also work with mothers considering reunions to anticipate the scope and meaning of new or changed relationships with children.