A phenomenological investigation into the impact of parenthood: Giving a voice to mothers with visual impairment in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Despite psychological support for parents increasing in prominence in recent UK public policy, there has been a minimal focus on parenting with a disability and specifically scant information on the experiences of what it is like to be a parent with visual impairment. Nine UK mothers, aged 32–47 years, each with a child under 10, were interviewed by telephone to examine how the experience of becoming a parent impacted them. Interview transcripts were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). This article focuses on two meta-themes in the findings: (1) ‘struggles around independence’ and (2) ‘visibility and the impact of the other’s gaze’. They raise issues around both theory and practice of interest to those working in psychological services for people with visual impairment, including (1) the possibility of a new integrative model to conceptualise the experience of parenting with a disability and (2) the mothers’ daily experience of stigmatisation and marginalisation in interaction with the other.