Page No 94-98
Nabamita Chakraborty and Moonmoon Dutta
Gokhale Memorial Girls’ College,
University of Calcutta, Kolkata
Mothers, motherhood and mothering long have been the subject of academic research,
public discussion and debate. The changing times, the revolution and evolution of the
woman’s role in society have produced subsequent modifications in the normative
prescriptions and expectations in the perception of motherhood. This study used a
cross-sectional qualitative research method used on adult mothers to investigate their
experiences of motherhood, to hear what they had to say about their attitudes, values,
concerns and needs. It also aimed to gather quantitative data on ‘motherhood’ from
female college students to investigate the perceptions and opinions regarding their own
future mothering role. Data was collected through 40 individual interviews involving a
semi-structured set of open-ended questions rated by three experts. Analysis of the
interviews was conducted using a qualitative content analysis approach. Also, the
perception of 70 female college students ranging from 18 – 24 years about their own
future mothering role was taken. Results showed significant differences in a considerable
portion of the study between the group of mothers interviewed and the college students.
Also, important attitudinal differences between the two groups are revealed. Additionally,
inconsistent with prior research, mothers have shown variations in their perception of
motherhood with varying age of their motherhood experience.