THE SUCCESSIVE-UNSETTLED TRANSITIONS OF MIGRATION AND THEIR IMPACT ON POSTPARTUM CONCERNS OF ARAB IMMIGRANT WOMEN (CONFLICTS, HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, STRAIN, SOCIAL NETWORK).
Contributors: University of California, San Francisco.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 186
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: This study examined the question of how Arab immigrant women manage their postpartum transition under the impact of the migration changes. Comparative analysis from grounded theory was utilized to formulate a substantive theory which illuminated the processes involved in both of migration and postpartum transitions and the interaction between them.

A prospective, longitudinal approach was followed using semistructured interviews and participant observations in a natural field research context. A total of 51 interviews was conducted with 18 pregnant women, each of whom was interviewed in late pregnancy, within the first week postpartum, and at four to six weeks postpartum.

The category of successive unsettled transitions emerged from data analysis as a key concept that described the migration experience of the women under study and identified the consequences of their relocation in the United States. Such consequences constituted the foundation for the new context within which the tasks of postpartum were undertaken.

The category of successive unsettled transitions referred to transitions that occurred in a successive manner; were not completely resolved; and resulted in the consequences of change in social roles, change in life style, change in social interaction and social support system.

The interaction of the physiological and psychological components of postpartum with the processes of relocation were found to add new demensions to the Arab women's experience of postpartum. As a result, Arab immigrant women displayed some concerns during this period that were distinct to their own situation: constant appraisal and facing of uncertainties during late pregnancy; conflicts between old and modern systems of birth; and postpartum strain.

A number of factors were found to influence the relationship between the processes and consequences of relocation and the postpartum concerns. These factors were: parity, gender of the sibling, infant's sex, marital relationship prior to the arrival of children. However, social support and type of social network structure were the most pervasive variables that were directly related to the amount and quality of postpartum concerns. Demographic and migration characteristics influenced the relocation transition, and thus indirectly postpartum transition.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, Section: B, page: 2370.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, 1986.

School code: 0034.