Il gioco Arbor raccontato da una neomamma durante una testimonianza di tre mesi: Single Case Study
Creators: name: Ribolzi, Sara
Publisher: name: Scuola Universitaria della Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI)
Year: 2021

description: Introduction This Bachelor Thesis tackles the risk of play deprivation among adults and, in particular, among new mothers. Although studies have confirmed this to be a basic human need and its role in wellbeing, adults tend to abandon games and fun, retaining other duties such as work. Every year there are about 87’000 new mothers throughout Switzerland and about 2’495 new-borns in canton Tessin. They struggle with a period of transition from being a woman to a mother, where their own routine is suddenly changed, and the time usually spent for themself is now spent for a baby. Play is used for the baby and no more for themselves. Obviously, such a drastic behavioral change can cause occupational disbalance and reduced wellbeing. To manage this phenomenon Martina and I built a play named “Arbor” tailored to new mothers. Outcome: throughout my Bachelor's, I thoroughly studied the playfulness among new mothers, based on theoretical models and an occupational therapy interpretation. With this thesis I investigated the type of influence Arbor could have on a swiss new mother, particularly on her playfulness. Methods This Bachelor Thesis wants to grasp the experience of the new mother during a 3-months interaction with Arbor trough a qualitative research. The data were gathered with a semi-structured interview and 2 self-assessments (SMAP; APTS) translated by me. The self-assessments were filled in by the new mother on the first and last meeting, in order to have pre-post data. I performed 6 interviews, which I transcribed and coded after recordings. Results Since Arbor was given to the new mother for a 10-weeks case study, she completed 13 handcraft projects, with an average of 1,3 projects per week. Before the study, the participant had an average of 0 time spent on play for herself. Arbor was used as a 3D diary where past, present and future events of the participants were drawn. The pleasure coming from the interaction with Arbor, experienced by the participant, are linked to the narrative, explorative, sensory, expressive and distractive pleasure. Arbor was included in the participant’s routine and environment. The participant witnessed her own transition from woman to mother, by disclosing her new daily tasks, rest and active time, time management skills and leisure activities. The results from the questionnaires are not significant. Conclusion Play is one of the eight occupational areas from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Interventions in this area can contribute to occupational balance. Occupational transitions tackle occupational balance and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) of the person. In the new mothers’ population, the transition comes from the birth of the child. The inclusion of Arbor in the ADLs of a new mother improves her engagement in play. Nevertheless, this is the first study of Arbor and the occupational therapy playfulness approach in the new mother population. Future research works are needed. Keywords: Play, Playfulness, New mothers, Motherhood, Mothers’ leisure, Occupational therapy, Occupational transitions, Occupational balance, Lifespan