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KMID : 0915920020050020206
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Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
2002 Volume.5 No. 2 p.206 ~ p.223
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A Phenomenological Study on Pregnancy Experience of Unmarried Korean Mothers
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Han Jin-Sook
Moon Young-Sook
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Abstract
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The purpose of this study was to discuss the nature of pregnancy experience among unwed Korean mothers and to figure out what it meant for them, by asking some of them to reflect on themselves in a written form from interpretative and phenomenological perspective, based on van Manen’s research method of the same approach. The subjects in this study were seven unmarried mothers in Korea. The data were collected from July through December 2000 through in- depth interview and observation. The statements of the participants were taped, recorded, analyzed and select essential themes. To have a phenomenological understanding of the pregnancy unmarried mothers, literary works, including essays and novels, were reviewed. The findings of this study were as below: The selected substantial themes about the pregnancy and birth experiences of the single mothers included ’hatred for boy friend,’ ’hatred for the fetus,’ and ’hatred for myself.’ The unmarried mothers met their boy friends through the introduction of friends. At first, they were good friends, but they soon went on a date and had sexual relation with no common knowledge about sex. Most of them were aware of their pregnancy after they felt fetal movement, but they put off taking the test because they didn’t want to accept the fact and feared it. Such an attitude was rare among married pregnant women, and being pregnant with no prior preparation or sexual knowledge is not common in Western countries. They felt guilty and informed their boy friends of the fact, but the boy friends didn’t admit their responsibility and rejected the babies. This made the poor girls hate them, and it turned into severe abhorrence. They thought their lives were ruined by the babies, and wished they would disappear. They reproached the babies, hitting their own bellies or making a kick. They considered themselves to be abandoned and didn’t want to live any more. Giving themselves up to despair, some attempted to commit a suicide. They hoped to die, thinking their death would solve the problem. When they lost a chance of abortion and were about to have the babies adopted, they felt sorry for them. The unwanted pregnancy gave them a pain, but they keenly felt they were loved by their mothers, and learned the value of family. It’s attempted in this study to clearly show how much unmarried Korean mothers suffered from pregnancy, and this effort paved the way for seeing unwed mothers in a new light and having a better understanding of them, instead of sticking to general perception.
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KEYWORD
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unmarried mothers, pregnancy
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