Challenges Encountered, Level of Support Received by Single Mother and Birth outcomes

AUTHOR(S)

FE C. GALAURA, RM, RN, MAN

ABSTRACT

— In today’s modern society, women’s roles have evolved from that of a housewife to that of a multitasking professional. A working mother is a woman who can integrate the maternal role with her employment, especially regarding childrearing (Poduval & Poduval, 2009). Two distinct categories of working women may fall under this broad term: the first is the stay-at-home mom who takes care of all household chores to meet her children’s needs, and the second is the working mom who manages to work outside the home while still fulfilling her role as a mother. Mothers who are raising their children alone are single mothers. Parenting alone may be difficult in a lot of different ways. Children from families with a single parent have varying health outcomes. Freeman (2017) claims that historically, societal mockery of lone parents was common. According to Freeman, mothers frequently felt pressure to meet expectations of what it meant to be a good mother. Single mothers are faced with several obligations. They had to deal with emotional, social, and financial issues. The primary source of stress for most single moms was their financial situation. They often felt alone, hopeless, unidentified, and insecure without support. These strains cause a variety of mental health issues, such as depression in single moms. During childbirth, single mothers may face hurdles and problems. As a result, they raise their children entirely on their own. Childbirth is regarded as one of the most essential physiological experiences in a woman’s life, with profound physical, psychological, and emotional consequences. In certain rare circumstances, this experience is associated with psychological strain, discomfort, vulnerability, probable physical repercussions, and mortality in a woman during birth (Naghizadeh, Kazemi, Ebrahimpour, &Aghdampour, 2013). As a result of these events, nurses play an essential role in caring for women during labor. Furthermore, nurses are skilled individuals responsible for looking after mothers and newborns. Republic Act 8972, or the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000, is a response to the needs of solo parents. It promotes the family as the foundation of the nation by ensuring its total development through the provision of a comprehensive program that will address the needs of solo parents. Keywords — Challenges, Single Mother, Encountered, Birth Outcomes, Women, Children, Child Support, Parenting