Making Place: The First Birth in an Intergenerational Family Context

Abstract

Interaction among parents, grandparents, and firstborn infants was studied in three healthy families over a period of 15 months, beginning in the last trimester of pregnancy and ending on the infant's first birthday. The grounded theory research method of constant comparative analysis resulted in the identification of an evolutionary family process that reflected reorganized interpersonal patterns and expanded the three-generational intrafamilial boundaries. Making place is defined as the process occurring in a family through which a newborn individual receives recognition as a member of that family. It is an integrative process in that it facilitates the creation of new relational connections within the family as well as giving new meaning to already existing ones. The concept of making place offers a useful focus for family nursing, namely, the importance of the relational context of family health.