Experience of transition into motherhood and a change of occupational lifestyle of young mothers

Motherhood represents a turning point in life, and it brings new responsibilities and changes in the lifestyle of first-time mothers. Participants in this study were four mothers aged 19-22 who were interviewed about their first experience of mother- hood after an unwanted pregnancy. In order to gain insight into the changes that young mothers experience in their process of transition to motherhood and how their occupational structure of the day changes, this research applied a qualitative research design using a method of semi-structured in-depth interview. The results were organized using thematic analysis which resulted in five main themes and ten subthemes. The main themes include: (1) The beginning of the transition to mother- hood, (2) Taking on the role of a mother, (3) New lifestyle, (4) Social attitudes towards young mothers and (5) Restricting and facilitating factors during and after pregnancy. Taking on the role of a mother was an individual process for each participant that was accompanied by a number of emotional changes, as well as role conflicts. The most prominent recognized emotion is fear (for the well-being of the child, for own future) and shame (due to the condemnation of others). Most significant role changes are seen in the transition from the role of a young person and student to the role of a mother. Changes in the daily occupational structure are visible through the sudden takeover of completely new occupations of childcare and co-occupations with the child. A special challenge in the transition process was the lack of family support and the prejudice of the wider social environment, especially in the times of pregnancy.