Psychosocial needs of first-time mothers over 40

ABSTRACT

Research on first-time motherhood has tended to ignore midlife women, and new mothers over 40 are a particularly understudied group. To fill this research gap, 147 first-time mothers over 40 completed online questionnaires about their postpartum experiences, with 25% of respondents reporting their pregnancies as unplanned. Participants reported fairly high levels of adjustment but also conveyed such challenges as a lack of social support, concerns about mortality, and disconnectedness from younger peer mothers. Results indicate the need for contraceptive counseling and supportive resources specific to this growing population of new mothers.

KEYWORDS:

• Advanced maternal age
• motherhood
• primiparous women
• unintended pregnancy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.