Negotiating intensive mothering and the gendered politics of active leisure among first time mothers in Canada

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we investigate the meanings and experiences of active leisure among first time mothers. The connection of first time mothers’ experiences to broader concepts such as intensive mothering, social policy, and neoliberalism are also examined within the context of their well-being. Using narrative analysis, 27 interviews were conducted with nine first time mothers participating in three in-person interviews over three months. Five stories were constructed that call attention to the importance of social relationships in creating opportunities for active leisure participation as well as confronting challenges related to the first time mothers’ recovering post-partum bodies. The findings from this study are important to consider for prospective first time mothers and those who wish to support them (e.g. academics, policymakers, sport, leisure, health and social service professionals) as the transition to motherhood may be marked with social isolation, depression, and a need to be connected to others.

Résumé

Cette étude se penche sur le sens que les nouvelles mères accordent aux loisirs actifs, ainsi que sur leur expérience des loisirs actifs. Le lien entre l’expérience des mères pour la première fois et des concepts plus large comme le maternage intensif, les politiques sociales et le néolibéralisme est aussi analysé dans le contexte du bien-être de ces femmes. Vingt-sept entrevues réalisées auprès de neuf nouvelles mères dans le cadre d’une série de trois entrevues en personne sur une période de trois mois ont été soumises à une analyse narrative. Nous avons pu dégager cinq narratifs suggérant l’importance des liens sociaux dans la création d’occasions de participation à des loisirs actifs, ainsi que sur le relèvement des défis physiques post-partum de ces mères pour la première fois. Les résultats de cette étude sont importants à considérer pour les futures nouvelles mères et les divers intervenants (p. ex. chercheurs, décideurs, professionnels du sport, des loisirs, de la santé et des services sociaux) qui s’intéressent à ces questions, car la maternité est parfois marquée par l’isolement social, la dépression et le besoin d’établir des liens avec les autres.

KEYWORDS:

• Active leisure
• intensive mothering
• leisure policy
• post-partum

Mots-clés:

• activités de loisir
• maternage intensif
• politiques en loisirs
• post-partum

Women’s experience of leisure is influenced by their gendered perceptions of their entitlement to leisure, particularly once they become mothers (Brown et al., 2001). Specifically, motherhood has shown to act as a significant constraint to women’s leisure in relation to managing new and multiple identities, feelings of guilt, and perceived lack of time, childcare, and social support (Bean & Wimbs, 2021; Liu et al., 2022; McGannon & McMahon, 2022; Miller & Brown, 2005). Moreover, as mothers, women continue to be primarily responsible for the invisible emotional and mental labour of their families, influenced strongly by the discourses surrounding the ethic of care and intensive mothering (Trussell & Shaw, 2012; McKeown, 2021; Shaw, 2008). Intensive mothering, impacts all mothers whether they claim or resist such a perspective. Consequently, mothers with young children are consistently identified as having lower levels of physical activity placing their physical and mental health at risk (Lloyd et al., 2016). At the same time, current government and social policy related to motherhood is informed by a neoliberal perspective in many Western countries that promotes and validates an intensive mothering ideology as consistent with being a ‘good mother’ (Oncesu, 2021; Shaw, 2010). These neoliberal perspectives promote individual responsibility for wellness, while reproducing class privileges, and supporting the commodification of women’s health and well-being (DeLuca & Bustad, 2017; Frisby, 2013; Fullagar, 2013).

This brief introduction brings into relief two assumptions exposed long ago by feminist policy scholars: women’s relationship with the state changes when they become mothers (for a classic exposition, see Jenson, 1986); and, women’s well-being is directly, and often negatively, affected by public policy (Burt, 19965; Neysmith et al., 2005; Phillips, 1996). It follows, then, that policies and programs, or lack thereof, aimed at facilitating active leisure will have significant implications for mother’s positive and negative well-being.

One phenomenon that holds potential to learn more about mothers’ well-being is during the transition to motherhood and the post-partum period after the birth of their first child. In this paper, we investigate the meanings and experiences of active leisure among first time mothers. Specifically, we critically examine the ways in which an intensive mothering ideology and social policies shape the experiences of mothers as they negotiate their transition to motherhood in Canada. Our research into the well-being of first time mothers was guided by the following questions: How do women experience active leisure during the transition to motherhood? How are programs and policies, or lack thereof, aimed at facilitating the active leisure experienced during this process? How do first time mothers reproduce, resist and challenge the gendered expectations of mothering?

Importantly, first time mothers will likely experience the consequences of social policy more acutely, since motherhood impels and complicates political subjectivity (see Johnson, 2009; Young, 1984). Women’s access to, and use of, active leisure to manage their transition to motherhood are important issues for prospective first time mothers and those who wish to support them (e.g. academics, policymakers, sport, leisure, health and social service professionals). Post-partum active leisure may help alleviate the difficulties of this life transition making it an important area of investigation.

Intensive mothering ideology and mother’s leisure experiences

In Western societies, ‘good mothering’ practices are informed by an intensive mothering ideology. This ideology embodies motherhood as child-centred, emotionally absorbing, and self-sacrificing with mothers as active managers of their children’s time and activities (Hays, 1996; McGannon & McMahon, 2022; Walsh et al., 2018). Compared to previous generations, mothering now extends beyond the provision of children’s safety and well-being to an enrichment process that ensures children’s time is well-managed and highly productive to maximize ongoing growth and development (Arendell, 2001; Trussell & Shaw, 2012; Shaw, 2010). As mothers, women continue to be primarily responsible for coordinating leisure activities for their families (Hilbrecht et al., 2008; Trussell & Shaw, 2012) and report being overwhelmed by their family care despite having more help from their partners than any generation before (Shaw, 2010).

Motherhood ideologies provide not only an idealization of child-rearing practices but also a set of criteria by which mothers may be judged (Leisse de Lustgarten, 2006; Nash, 2011). Yet, intensive mothering practices are often difficult to achieve as they are rooted in White, middle-class, and heteronormative values of ‘proper’ child rearing with underlying values of being able to afford and/or have the desire to stay at home with their children (Guendouzi, 2006; Nash, 2011). It is clear that ‘standards of contemporary motherhood are inescapable; mothers are being negatively affected by the presence of unattainable standards of perfection regardless of their beliefs about intensive mothering’ (Henderson et al., 2016, pp. 522–523).

For most women, feelings of tension, conflict, and guilt (i.e. emotional work) are experienced as they try to meet the ideological expectations of intensive mothering practices while realizing their individual needs (Cowdery & Knudson-Martin, 2005; Guendouzi, 2006; Shaw, 2008). Overlapping emotional work, mothers also experience mental work that involves the thinking performed to achieve goals within the family such as planning, strategizing, monitoring and anticipating needs (see McKeown, 2021). Mental work, according to McKeown (2021), can be linked to the gendered socially constructed expectations for mothers and they may relinquish their own leisure needs as they focus on the needs of their children and the family unit as a whole (Trussell & Shaw, 2007; Palmer et al., 2007; Shaw, 2008; Sullivan, 2013). Relatedly, mothers have reported that their access to leisure is constrained by an ethic of care, lack of time, lack of social support, lack of childcare, guilt, cost and low partner support (Brown et al., 2001; Miller & Brown, 2005). Consequently, mothers may experience depression and negative mental health outcomes (Gunderson & Barrett, 2017; Rizzo et al., 2013) as they neglect their own leisure and well-being. Yet, much of the research is focused on school-aged children and little is known about how the intensive mothering ideology is constructed during the post-partum period.

Although not focused on first time mothers and the post-partum period, recent research on motherhood and active leisure has reported the challenges of women managing their shifting and multiple identities. For example, Bean and Wimbs (2021) found that mothers with children under 8 years old experienced identity conflict related to not losing their identities as a runner as well as managing multiple identities and finding balance (e.g. athlete, mother, wife, employee). Similarly, McGannon and McMahon (2022) examined competitive recreational runners, who were mothers of children under 6 years old. Their work highlights the role of active leisure to reimagine the post-partum self and the constraining and emancipative aspects of women’s participation. While investigating yoga and identity development of Chinese second-time mothers, Liu et al. (2022) found that their maternal identity was in conflict with their career identity and personal identity after giving birth for the second time. In particular, the mothers experienced gender discrimination at work while facing greater demands from their families. Importantly, in all of these studies, active leisure (i.e. running and yoga) remained an important aspect of the mothers’ lives. Bean and Wimbs (2021) reported that the women used three strategies to minimize feelings of guilt and perceived lack of time including self-compassion, eliciting social support (e.g. husbands, extended family and friends, running friends and children), and comprehensive planning such as coordinating childcare.

It is clear, too, that active leisure experiences may provide mothers with a sense of freedom, control, and empowerment (McGannon & McMahon, 2022; McGannon et al., 2017; Shaw, 2001). In particular, active leisure can be an important site of identity negotiation in relation to motherhood and resistance to gendered expectations (e.g. wife, mother) that constrain their active leisure meanings and experiences (Appleby & Fisher, 2009; Liu et al., 2022; McGannon & McMahon, 2022; Spowart et al., 2008, 2010). While resistance can occur in all settings and circumstances, leisure provides enhanced opportunities for resistant acts because of greater opportunities for self-expression and self-determination (Shaw, 2006). Further, through an examination of gender and pronatalist ideologies, mothers’ engagement in leisure has enabled women to have a more optimistic attitude and enhance their well-being (see Du, 2008; Parry, 2005) while renegotiating representations of post-partum femininity (DeLuca & Bustad, 2017). Thus, active leisure may be a key site for mothers to negotiate the tensions and challenges of dominant social discourses, such as intensive mothering as well as neoliberal social policies, during the transition to motherhood and the post-partum period.

Mother’s active leisure and social policy

The impact of social policy adds another layer of complexity to the framing of mothers’ active leisure experiences. As Romangnoli and Wall (2012) point out, the intensive mothering ideology fits well within the neoliberal model of social policy that promotes ‘individual responsibility, self-governance and self-improvement whilst simultaneously reducing social spending and state responsibility for collective social problems’ (p. 275). Aligned with a neoliberal ideal, the current cultural emphasis on intensive mothering and child-centred parenting holds mothers responsible for their children’s outcomes and future success (Nguyen et al., 2017). New Zealand’s Ministry of Education initiative Mission-On is an excellent example of neoliberal policy in action. The initiative encourages parents to engage in healthy living as a way to encourage physical activity in their children (Spowart et al., 2010). Initiatives such as these include neoliberal expectations and practices that validate and promote intensive mothering as ‘good mothering’. In a critical sociological analysis of how Australian families negotiate messages of government health policies and promotion campaigns in their everyday leisure practices, Fullagar and Harrington (2009) found that the desire to embrace healthy lifestyles was highly valued by the families. However, ‘active living policies and health promotion campaigns that emphasise individual responsibility for “eating well and being active” assume that all families enjoy the privilege of having middle-class leisure opportunities’ (p. 211).

In Canada, where this study takes place, federal, provincial, and municipal governments acknowledge the role of active leisure in individual and community development such as improving quality of life and enhancing social functioning (e.g. Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, 2015; Canadian Sport Policy, 2012). Yet, it is the municipalities as well as non-profit and private service providers that carry the primary responsibility for implementing policies and services, often resulting in unequal access for marginalized groups, including women, the unemployed, and persons with disabilities (Frisby et al., 2007; Havitz et al., 2004). Frisby (2013) takes aim at the rise of neoliberalism in local government ‘where a business-oriented approach is increasingly adopted, user fees are now commonly charged for recreation programs that were at one time covered by tax-based dollars’ (p. 410).

In response to the life-changing transition of motherhood, and as a component of social policy in the 1990s, leisure-based parenting programs such as the Ontario Early Years Centres¹ were implemented beginning in 2001 and were provincially funded (Romangnoli & Wall, 2012). These centres are based on principles of early childhood development as well as neoliberal notions of individual responsibility for child outcomes and are an example of social programming that promotes intensive mothering (Romangnoli & Wall, 2012). In addition to leisure-based parenting programs, municipalities, non-profit, and private service providers offer a number of fitness programs for first time mothers (e.g. mom and baby yoga, stroller fit, and post-natal fitness courses) consistent with neoliberal policy perspectives.

Parental leave policies are another mechanism that governments have at their disposal to mitigate the impacts of the transition to motherhood for women and their relationships with their social and familial networks and their employers. In terms of outcomes, strong parental programs have been linked to positive maternal and infant health outcomes (Aitken et al., 2015) and improved labour market participation for women (Evertsson & Duvander, 2011; Solaz & Thévenon, 2013). Paternity leave programs have the potential to trouble the gendered division of care work with fathers taking a higher share of parental leave (Kershaw, 2006; Mahon & Brennan, 2013), thereby encouraging them to be more actively engaged in the care work (Robson, 2017).

At the same time, however, there is tremendous variation across national and, in some cases, subnational policy regimes. In Canada, the federal program is housed under the nation’s Employment Insurance (EI) program.² Until 2018, the program offered 17 weeks of maternity leave, 35 weeks of parental leave with a 55% wage replacement rate, and no paternal leave program. The EI program currently offers 15 weeks of maternity leave (for the person giving birth), 40 weeks of parental leave with a 55% wage replacement rate or 69 weeks of parental leave with a 33% wage replacement rate, and no paternal leave program. To be eligible for the EI program, parents much have worked a minimum of 600 h of work in the 52 weeks before the start of their claim (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html). Despite considerable policy gains, the ways in which these policies are lived and experienced still produces feelings of conflict, helplessness, and the gendered division of work (Paterson et al., 2019). Moreover, parental leave policies that are grounded in the labour market reinforces a socioeconomic hierarchy while the role of leisure as a mechanism of wellbeing continues to be neglected in social policy discussions (Paterson et al., 2016, 2019).

In sum, feminist policy and leisure scholars have paid considerable attention to motherhood, yet women’s experiences of the transition to motherhood after the birth of their first child has not been explored in depth within these fields. Building on the existing motherhood and leisure literature, in this paper we investigate the experiences of active leisure among first time mothers within the context of intensive mothering and neoliberal social policy perspectives.

Research design

Narrative analysis has been used to investigate physical activity and sport in pregnancy and post-partum and provides an in-depth understanding of how women navigate their changing lives (e.g. McGannon & McMahon, 2022; Spowart et al., 2010; Walsh et al., 2018). Narrative analysis is particularly informative in examining the lived effects of policy because it questions mainstream and deficit notions of a particular human experience, such as motherhood. Narrative analysis is premised on the notion that an individual’s experience results from an ongoing interaction with the personal, social, and material environment. Knowledge generation comes directly from perceptions of experience (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007). Smith (2016) argues that ‘narrative analyses can help us understand human conduct in ways that respect both agency and structure’ (p. 262, emphasis in original).

Participants and data collection

Consistent with the use of narrative analysis that gathers in-depth accounts from small samples of participants, we recruited a purposive sample of nine mothers. In phase one, three participants were recruited by sending emails and recruitment posters to local organizations that provide resources, services or programs to expectant and first time mothers. In phase two, recruitment calls were also sent out to personal networks (friends of friends, colleagues, service providers) wherein the majority of the participants (i.e. six) were eventually recruited. Inclusion criteria included: i) participants had a live birth within the past six to 12 months which was later expanded to 18 months, ii) were a first time mother, and iii) resided in the provinces of Quebec or Ontario where research team members were located. Eight of the nine participants experienced the birth of their first child within six to 12 months prior to the first interview and ranged in age from 29 to 41 years old with the average age being 34 years old. This is slightly higher than the national average age of mothers at first birth that was reported as 29.2 years in 2016 (Provencher et al., 2018). Although we were hopeful to recruit a more diverse sample, ultimately the participants were a relatively homogenous group with eight of the nine mothers White, all of them resided with their partners, were in a heterosexual relationship, and eight of the nine participants were mid- to higher income status. See Table 1 for participant information related to their age, race, age of baby at first interview, c-section or vaginal birth, breast-fed, maternity/parental leave, partner’s paternity leave and/or time away from employment, and key extended familial sources of support.

Table 1. Participant demographics.

	Age	Race	Age of Baby at 1^st Interview	C-Section or Vaginal Birth	Breast-fed	Mother’s Maternity/Parental Leave	Partner’s Paternity Leave and/or Time Away from Employment	Key Extended Familial Sources of Support
Mom 1 (Sarah’s Story)	35	White	8 months	Vaginal	Yes	1 year	2 weeks of vacation time	Her mother.
Mom 2	34	White	10 months	Vaginal	Yes	1 year	Owns his own business – scheduled a day or two off every week.	Her father, brothers, and in-laws.
Mom 3 (Laura’s Story)	35	White	8 months	C-Section	Yes	11 months	None yet. Husband plans to take the last month off as paternity leave. He is self-employed with a flexible work schedule.	Her father and father-in-law.
Mom 4 (Kathy’s Story)	36	White	8 months	C-Section	Yes	11 months	None yet. Husband plans to take the last month off as paternity leave.	Her mother and step-father as well as father and step-mother.
Mom 5 (Alison’s Story)	41	White	8 months	Unknown	Yes	Only a few months leave. She was self-employed.	None yet. Possibility for husband to take 6 months.	Close with parents but live afar.
Mom 6	31	White	16 months	C-Section	Yes	10 months	3 weeks paternity leave and 3 weeks vacation time.	Her step-father and mother-in law.
Mom 7	29	East Indian	5 months	Vaginal	Yes: Only the 1^st month.	1 year	40 days paternity leave. Works part-time as well as own business.	Her parents and brother.
Mom 8	31	White	6 months	Vaginal	Yes	Immediate preventative leave at 10 weeks pregnant. Followed by maternity/parental leave.	5 weeks. 2 weeks at birth and remaining 3 weeks after baby came home.	Her parents and in-laws.
Mom 9 (Mary’s Story)	Unknown	White	6 months	Vaginal	Yes: Only the first 6 weeks.	9 month maternity/parental leave by choice – did not want to take entire year.	3 weeks at birth.	Mother, twin sister, sister-in-law.

Aligned with narrative analysis, interviews were conducted using broad, open-ended questions such as ‘Tell me about … ’ and then letting the participant tell their story with as little interruption as possible (Glesne, 2011). Interview one began by having participants tell the story of their transition to motherhood following McAdams (1997) life story approach. In the second interview, participants shared artifacts that held a significant meaning for them while the third interview focused on exploring the participants’ experiences of employment policies and supports (e.g. financial, workplace, partner, family, friends). Open-ended probes related to active leisure meanings and experiences were highlighted in interviews one and three as well as interview two when a relevant artifact was chosen by the participant (e.g. running stroller). Each interview was collectively analyzed by the research team prior to the subsequent second and then third interviews conducted with each participant. This allowed the interviewer to ask additional questions for clarity related to each participant’s specific story in the following interview. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Each interview (#1, #2, and #3) ranged from 30 min to 2 h (interview one average − 72 minutes; interview two average − 62 minutes; interview three average − 75 minutes). All participants completed all three interviews providing a data set of 27 interviews.

Data analysis

Drawing on Smith’s (2016) guidelines for narrative thematic analysis, we conducted several strategies that were cyclical and iterative as opposed to linear and fixed. The data analysis began with the transcription of the interviews followed by organization of the data in Excel. We used an active and inductive approach to facilitate understanding of participants’ experiences. An inductive approach aims to be an ‘open-ended investigation with minimal assumptions, leaving the researcher open to emergent leads and new ideas’ (Saldaña, 2015, p. 23). Using analytic inductive methods, a researcher constructs knowledge in a cumulative process to build sense and meaning (Saldaña, 2015). One member of our research team would analyze each interview in its entirety through narrative dwelling that involves reading the interview transcripts several times. The team member would then code transcript passages with narrative themes. As Smith’s (2016) explains, a ‘narrative theme is a pattern that runs through a story or set of stories’ (p. 264). During this process the team member would look for key phrases and underlying meanings of data, at the same time recognizing it was important ‘not to “overcode” as this can fragment the story’ (Smith, 2016, p. 264).

After each interview was analysed we would then, collectively as a research team, go through each interview transcript and the initial coding by the first team member together, to analyse the content of the story (Reissman, 2008). It was through this process that we were able to identify any missing narrative themes, clarify our understanding of the data, and connect thematic relationships. This was a iterative process. As the data analysis evolved there was further refinement of the narrative themes as they were discarded and/or (re)constructed. Finally, we collectively described and interpreted each thematic relationship, ‘working back and forth between the data and notes’ (Smith, 2016, p. 264). We then repeated this systematic process for the second and third interviews. Throughout the collective analysis the interdisciplinary team drew on ‘sensitizing concepts’ such as intensive mothering and prior knowledge from their respective fields of study (e.g. Sport Management, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Political Science, Midwifery Care) to deepen the theoretical relevance of the findings.

Constructing the stories

The mothers’ lived experiences are presented in the form of stories. Stories invite readers to participate in the co-construction of knowledge and to make meaning (Smith & Liehr, 2014) through their interpretations of the written word. Rinehart (2005) writes that ‘when personal narratives are used properly, the reader will come away with not only knowledge of what has happened, but a deeper underlying sense of empathy with the Other, an understanding of experience’ (p. 503). Stories are different than the objective reporting of mere facts that potentially distance the reader from the essential feeling of the phenomenon (Saldaña, 2015).

In constructing the stories, we began by reading each of the transcripts once again. The purpose of this review was to uncover potential plot lines to construct creative nonfiction short stories (Sparkes & Smith, 2014) that were embedded in the lived experience of the participants, and would reflect the specific themes that were emphasized in the earlier analysis. We captured passages taken directly from the transcripts that were ‘restoried’ by the research team focusing on stylistic dimensions of telling. In creating monologues that emerged from individual interviews with the mothers, words were edited slightly and sentence order was sometimes modified in order to present a coherent story of their experiences. Guided by Saldaña’s (2015) concept of thinking monologically, we found ‘moments when gripping stories are told, when poignant moments are expressed, when the little things seem important, when strong emotions prevail, and when profound insights are made’ (p. 173). Our approach to re-storying the mother’s narratives also aligns with Seidman (2013) who advocates for three separate interviews with the same participant to create a ‘monologic assemblage of the richest passages from transcripts’ (as cited by Saldaña, 2015, p. 174). As we experimented with writing and representation through storied forms, we simultaneously reanalysed the data that brought forth (re)constructed meaning and interpretations related to the participants’ experiences (Mulcahy, 2015).

Five stories

What follows are five of the nine women’s stories: i) Boxing through the Chaos, ii) Starting at Ground Zero, iii) Doing My Best While Being a Team, iv) Carving out Time for Myself, and v) Finding Solitude with My Baby. The constructed stories reflect individual participants, and as noted earlier, are a monologic assemblage from their three transcripts. The women’s stories in some ways traversed all of the mothers, and at the same time, demonstrate the complexities and nuances of the women’s experiences. First, the women’s stories of active leisure highlight the challenges of their recovering post-partum bodies as well as the heightened difficulties of breastfeeding in public spaces. The importance of social support and/or the absence thereof (e.g. partners, family, friends, and moms’ groups) is also highlighted throughout the women’s stories. Finally, the tensions related to the reproduction and resistance of intensive mothering ideals permeates all of the women’s stories, drawing attention to social policy as well as social inclusion and exclusionary practices.

Alison’s story: boxing through the chaos

I used to go everyday but some stuff happened with the business I own. My business partner died unexpectedly. Once that happened then my whole maternity leave just fell on its ass. Now, for me it is constantly planning out what the next step is … everything feels like a part of a puzzle because I just can’t go and run my errands. So I have to think, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to the gym and I want to do these two things today’. So I have to plan out what my daughter needs in these slots. And many times I don’t get to go to the gym or do the things that I want to do because of how I have to prioritize it. There will be stuff with my work that I have to get done. Tomorrow I have to do interviews to hire a part-time staff and my baby will have to come with me for the interviews.

The problem right now is that with my job I can’t even go to the gym because I feel guilty that I’m not spending time with her. On Saturdays my husband looks after her for four hours. I could very easily say, ‘great this would be a good time for a run’ but because she can only be away from me for a four-hour window in-between feedings, right now that four-hour window is me going to work. And that’s a problem. That makes it hard. Maybe when she’s older I will be able to renegotiate.

It’s just not how I thought it would be. I thought I would have more time to do classes and stuff with my baby. I thought I would be able to get back into shape after the pregnancy, be back in the gym, and be more active. My life is just too chaotic. Maybe I was naïve to think this was how it would be with a baby. Now it is just a lot more running around. I thought I would be doing more activities with my baby and that I would have time for myself. On top of all the other mom stuff that I have to do – when she finally goes to sleep – I’m just too exhausted.

She comes with me to the boxing gym and she sits in the corner while people punch stuff. And all of the guys punch and then they look around and they are like ‘oh, little baby!’ Today, the boxing coach picks her up, we work, he just holds her while she just looks around. But I know this is short-lived because she is little. If she is fed first and she is chilled, then we are good. But I know that when she starts to crawl boxing might have to be cut out. Right now she is okay because she sits in her chair and hangs out, but I think when she wants to get under people’s feet it’s not going to work.

Laura’s story: starting at ground zero

One thing that’s been really surprising for me is how slow the physical recuperation has been. I used to be very strong and I didn’t know that it would take this much time. I don’t feel I have the energy and the discipline it takes to be fit again and I did not expect it to be like this. I almost feel like I’m at ground zero, that I don’t even remember being fit and what it looks like to get back there. And I think the eventual ‘there’ might look very different than what ‘there’ was before I had the baby.

Walking is helpful but it’s just not the same as going for a jog. After the baby was born I was sitting inside a lot and I found that I was feeling pretty defeated. I had a C-section so it’s physically challenging and my physiotherapist thinks that the connective tissue around the C-section still has a lot of healing to do and some of it is not healing properly. It seems like no matter what I do, there is always this nagging pain there and exercising always aggravates it.

Before having the baby, I was a runner. I’ve run for like ten years so not being able to run and get out has been really hard. That was how I used to clear my head and I thought I’d spend a lot of my maternity leave doing that and now it’s all dwindling away. I guess I’m kind of stuck in my box. It’s been really, really challenging. Running was a huge coping strategy for me. When I was nine months pregnant I used to lie there and I would dream of going for a run. Like, literally, I had dreams. I just really feel like I’m starting from ground zero. So physical activity was my main outlet for stress and clearing my mind. Also my self-esteem in a lot of ways is wrapped up in my physical activity. I don’t have anything to replace that right now, so it feels like a huge barrier to that.

Things started to look up when I had a big turning point. My father-in-law looks after the baby now during the daytime for a few hours one or two times per week. He is just amazing. He has a heart of gold and he loves his granddaughter so much and you can tell that he really wants to build a relationship with her. He kept wanting to come over to visit her and I was really feeling the need to get out and have some time for myself. I used to get a lot of that when I was working and I was able to have my regular yoga practice.

Yoga has been a dedicated part of my life for two or three years. I have anxiety and I’m on medication and my psychiatrist at the hospital’s mental health program suggested it. She told me that it would be very beneficial to get out on my own at least two times during the week. Prior to my father-in-law helping out I might be able to go to yoga in the evenings if my husband came home early from work but I never had my own time during the day. I did a mommy and yoga program but it just wasn’t working for me. My turning point to recovery was having my father-in-law’s help to look after the baby so I could do yoga.

Kathy’s story: doing my best while being a team

Now that the weather is good, I’m always going outdoors and going on a local walk with my baby. There is a bunch of moms that I met on Facebook; and we meet locally and we do the trail down the road. I often put my dog on my waist and all of us go together. Or we’re trying to do picnics now. When the weather is good we try to spend time outside. Why do we have to put our kids in programs when we can just meet in the park? I’ve also started this group with some other moms I met online where we meet once a week and run. I’m not really good friends with them and we are not emotionally attached. We all go our separate ways and don’t go out for coffee afterwards. But I really like the group. I think we support each other really well and it encourages us to be healthy.

But I do know that moms’ groups are definitely cliquey and you can feel excluded. The first moms’ group I went to was near my parents’ house at a church. The women did not make me feel welcome at all. No one said ‘hi’ or made eye contact with me and they had their back turned to me the whole time. They were also very patronizing of their nannies and gardeners and were obsessed with what private school their kids would go to. Like, I can’t afford anything. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want the best for him. I just can’t afford it. I felt really isolated at that point and I was really sad because of it. I didn’t go to a mom’s group for months after that.

I was an athlete. I used to play and coach rugby. I obviously had to take a sabbatical from that because of the baby. Socially it has majorly affected me and I miss my rugby community. But with the good weather now I have started running. I am extremely sore from Monday’s run but my goal is to just get outside and if I have to run/walk until it gets to be comfortable again, I’ll just keep doing it until the pain goes away. I’m doing my best. My friends call me superwoman but I don’t feel that way.

My C-section is making it hard and it’s so painful. But a healthy mom equals a healthy baby. He’s seeing me run. I’m a powerful woman and I’m so excited that he gets to do it with me. He gets to see his mom as a powerful mom that can feed him and play sports and all those kind of things. I love him being with me when I’m doing it because he is going to know that his mom does that and I think that is really important. I love the fact that I’m holding on to him, holding onto the stroller. It reminds me why I’m doing it. And I’ve been talking to other moms with a stroller and they are like, ‘we hate running with the stroller, it’s our time, blah, blah, blah’. But I’m so motivated by touching that stroller. We’re a team. It’s a team thing and a healthy family. And I love it. And I can’t do everything perfectly, but I’m trying.

Mary’s story: carving out time for myself

I don’t fit the mould of that type of mother. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a mommy’s group. I’ve seen a lot of women with their strollers doing mommy exercise groups along the canal, but I feel like women like that only talk about their babies. I don’t want to talk about my baby when I do things like that. I just really want a break – a mental break – and I feel like I would stick out as an outsider. I have been on mommy blogs and mommy forums and I think that is what has turned me off those types of mommy groups. I think I’ve labelled all mommy groups to be like the forums which is really a lot of whining, venting, and mommy shaming based on your decisions, and I don’t want to engage with that.

I’m very comfortable with the decisions that I’m making so I would rather find that companionship with people who I trust: family and friends. I have a support system already so I don’t feel like I need to join a bunch of women in Lululemon active wear, sitting around, talking about their babies with really expensive strollers. If I was someone who didn’t have a supportive network, family or friends, then I think it would be more appealing, but I don’t see added value in pursuing that for myself.

To be honest, I was never convinced I was ever going to have kids. Once I started to entertain the idea, I always said, ‘but it’s important for me to have my own time’. And I do have my own time. Three times a week I will go work out or go for a small jog or something. So that is like my ‘me’ time which is super important. Even just for an hour and a half or two hours. Saturdays are also my time. My husband has been really good about it. And he likes it because it is an opportunity to be home with the baby one-on-one.

And so I kind of figured that probably carving out time for myself would be something that I would have to integrate into my whole motherhood experience. But I didn’t know to what extent I would need time to myself, or to what extent I would need companionship. But now, my friends and I crave it. What we need from each other is companionship which we don’t have when we are on maternity leave.

So we make a point to set days that we can get together at somebody’s house because we all need a break from the routine of motherhood. It’s like, ‘okay, I can carry on a discussion again! I have things to say that are beyond my children that I want to talk about’. The kids can be on the floor and they can play but let’s focus on each other, and us as women, and human beings. You need to press the pause button sometimes on being a mom because you are going to be a mom anyway. It is a part of who you are now. The days where I do nothing and just hang around the house playing with my baby are long. And it’s not super fun because it’s you and a baby who doesn’t talk back so there is a feeling of isolation on those days.

Sarah’s story: finding solitude with my baby

I used to be a runner and I’ve been trying to think about ways to do that. Unless you go and get one of those stupid running strollers – which I’m not going to do – it’s not really an activity that I can integrate her into. So I’ve been trying to think how I could just run twice a week. I run when my mom is here and then I run once on the weekends. Maybe I could get back into it. So it’s just a question of getting some motivation to make it happen.

There was a free mama café at the top of the street with a different topic every week. And I was going to that, and then it closed. Then I had signed up for a yoga class where you can bring your baby too, and then she got sick that day and I cancelled it and then I just haven’t signed up for another class. There’s a pool just down the street that I want to take her to. They have like a preschool swim, so I’ll take her swimming.

I am not taking advantage of things that I know are available. Part of that is my personality. I’m not a joiner and I like to stay at home. I guess my shyness prevents me from doing that. I know I’m hurting myself by not doing that. It’s awful comparing yourself to other people. I have friends that are out doing things and they are at this program, that program, take their kid to that thing … and I don’t do any of that. And then I feel bad. I’m not helping her grow and meet other people. But ultimately, I’m happy with our little routine at home and we go for walks.

It’s honestly been a bit of a struggle that I wasn’t expecting. She is a very frequent breast feeder. It was months before she was able to go two hours without nursing. She wouldn’t go in the car seat without screaming her freaking head off. So planning to feed her right before we go, get her in there, but then when am I going to have to feed her? Going out also has that dimension of public breast feeding. Fine you want to see my boob, here, I don’t care. It was just taxing on me and sometimes I just want to stay home. It’s just easier. To just sit in the chair and have a boob out at all times, like who cares?

But, I miss doing the things I used to do and just leave the house whenever I want to. Yet at the same time, I don’t really want to be away from her either. It feels like this constant inner conflict. What I want but then also what I want for her often takes precedence. One of my friends was telling me that a friend of hers, her mom comes two mornings a week and then her mother-in-law comes the other two mornings a week and she goes to the gym. And at first I thought ‘oh, it must be nice to have all that much time’. But then at the same time I don’t know why I would want to be away from her that much. I might as well go back to work if I’m going to do that.

So it’s a struggle. Wanting to be alone and do things for myself, and at the same time, not actually wanting to be away from her anyway. It’s a weird tension. Sometimes I’m just desperate to be by myself, but when it comes down to it, I don’t actually want to be away from her. I’m at the point in my maternity leave now where I have to go back to work soon and I will have less time with her. I moan about not having time to myself, but at the end of the day, I don’t actually want it. I would rather be with her.

Discussion

In this paper, we investigated the meanings and experiences of active leisure among first time mothers. Specifically, we critically examined the ways in which an intensive mothering ideology and social policies shape the experiences of mothers as they negotiate their transition to motherhood. This study provides important contributions to the literature. Our work illuminates the implications of the dominant ideology of intensive mothering in negotiating women’s access and quality of experiences in active leisure pursuits, even during the early post-partum period of motherhood. The study also emphasizes the everyday meanings and experiences of social policy frameworks, a perspective that is largely missing from policy studies literature (Paterson et al., 2016, 2019).

Although intensive mothering expectations may be altered by their employment status, the ideology is internalized by mothers who are stay-at-home as well as in the labor market (Johnston & Swanson, 2006; Spowart et al., 2010) and reinforced by fathers’ commitment to paid labour despite access to parental leave programs (see Table 1). For example, the ideology was internalized by all mothers regardless of their employment status during six to twelve months post-partum. Alison’s story illustrates the struggles of self-employed mothers unable to access formal maternity leave policies, and consequently the absence of mother and baby programs in her narrative. The privileges that maternity leave policies can facilitate in fulfiling the intensive mothering ideal (e.g. time and choice to access programs) was illustrated through Mary’s story. Yet, Sarah’s story illustrates the complexities in accessing post-partum fitness programs (i.e. mommy and me yoga classes; infant swim classes), even when mothers have access to maternity leave benefits, due to breastfeeding and its physically laborious demands.

The emotionality of the transition to motherhood and its connection to the women’s active leisure meanings and experiences was also ever-present. The tension, conflict, and guilt between meeting intensive mothering ideals and their own needs underpinned most of the women’s stories. At the same time, counter to neoliberal and intensive mothering ideals that the needs of the baby must come first and the mothers’ ‘emotional needs may be completely fulfiled by their children’ (Gunderson & Barrett, 2017, p. 994), the women in this study intentionally sought out active leisure experiences to minimize stress, decrease their anxiety, increase self-esteem, and reconstruct their identities.

It is clear, too, that although the transition to motherhood can have a negative impact on mothers’ individual active leisure experiences, these experiences when successfully negotiated can also become an important site of identity formation or resistance to dominant ideologies (e.g. intensive mothering) despite their recovering post-partum bodies. The findings in this study illustrated how active leisure can give first time mothers a sense of freedom and control over their choices (O’Brien et al., 2017; Shaw, 2001; Spowart et al., 2008). For example, both Mary and Kathy’s stories revealed the importance of running to their identity (re)construction; however, the meaning of running for these women was framed by different perspectives. Mary’s story highlighted the importance of maintaining her own identity, separate from mothering, where the intentionality of carving out time for herself was seen as imperative. Mary’s story also highlights mothers’ resistance to the intensive mothering ideology. In contrast, Kathy’s story exemplified the importance of running with a stroller to help construct her mothering identity and a sense of family by including her baby.

Finally, the stories in this study emphasize the important role of social relationships in creating opportunities for the mothers to participate in their own active leisure. It was through kin support networks that women were able to resist the notion of self-sacrificing motherhood to find time for their themselves (Bean & Wimbs, 2021; McGannon et al., 2018; Ohlendorf et al., 2019; Spowart et al., 2010). For example, the mothers’ partners as well as extended family members (e.g. father-in-law) were seen as important support networks to look after the baby, in order for the mothers to schedule and engage in their own active leisure experiences. Further, although relationships with other first time moms were sought out, missing and/or resisted in different ways across the women’s stories in relation to their active leisure experiences, these (anticipated) relationships were for the majority of the women, essential to their transitionary life state. For some of the women, it was through relationships with other moms that positive emotions, and escape from everyday routines even if only temporary, could be fostered (Ohlendorf et al., 2019; Walsh et al., 2018). How these social relationships formed, however, was complex with diverse narratives from some women who intentionally sought out moms’ groups, while others intentionally avoided them and relied on existing friend networks.

Practical implications and limitations

In terms of practical implications, we would like to highlight that many of the programs that first time mothers access reflect neoliberal policy perspectives and user pay, which has implications for women’s ability to access post-partum fitness programs. Kathy’s story represents exclusionary behaviours from a mom’s group based upon her lower income status and inability to access resources, which ultimately shaped the type of opportunities and experiences that she could access. The judgement she perceived by other mothers reproduces the intensive mothering ideology rooted in a middle- and upper-class script, requiring a financial investment in organized activities for their children’s successful development in the present and future. Although financial assistance may be offered for organized activities, other barriers may include requiring the women to publicly declare or prove their low-income status, limited access to telephone or web registration systems, and the high cost of transportation (Trussell & Mair, 2010; Khosla, 2008; Oncescu & Loewen, 2020). In this sense, our analysis reveals that from birth and beyond, low-income families may be excluded from community leisure and sport provisions that have become intertwined within intensive mothering ideologies and ‘good mothering’ practices of the global North (Trussell & Shaw, 2012; Oncesu, 2021). This suggests that policies attending to leisure access are falling short and policymakers must design policies in ways that further social justice goals.

Our research also serves to emphasize first time mothers’ unique opportunities and challenges in successfully participating in active leisure, specifically in relation to their recovering post-partum bodies. Underlying the majority of the stories was a sense of their struggle returning to their previous activities and/or reconciling their needs by altering the type of activities in which they participated. Laura and Kathy’s stories were particularly salient in demonstrating the negative implications of medical procedures such as C-sections, and the enduring consequences it had on their active leisure experiences, even one year after the birth of their child. As these mothers demonstrate, with neoliberal social policy frameworks that promote individual responsibility for healthy lifestyles (Fullagar & Harrington, 2009), it becomes difficult to negotiate messages of government health policies and promotion campaigns in their everyday active leisure practices (e.g. Active Canada 2020; ParticipACTION). The mothers’ narratives expose how neoliberal social policies implicates their lives differently and the inherent inadequacies of the ‘one size fits all’ approach (e.g. changes to pregnant/post-partum body; vaginal or C-section birth; breastfeeding complications; access to resources; support networks).

One key limitation of the study was the relatively homogenous participant sample. This study did not represent Canadian women’s racial diversity as all but one of the participants were White, heterosexual, and partnered women. This study also inadequately addressed how women’s socioeconomic status enabled or limited their access to active leisure as only one of the participants (i.e. Kathy) would identify as lower income status. A focused exploration on the intersection of socioeconomic status and race as well as other diverse representations (e.g. sexuality, age, ethnicity, (dis)ability) would provide an enhanced understanding of the transition to motherhood for women. Future research that advances an intersectional analysis of women’s transition to motherhood can teach us a great deal about how to provide better active leisure experiences for all women (Freysinger et al., 2013).

Conclusion

First time mothers’ meanings and experiences of their participation in active leisure are complex and nuanced. The five stories underscore the impact of an intensive mothering ideology as well as social policies (e.g. parental leave) and neoliberalism (e.g. individual responsibility for health and well-being) on first time mothers’ expectations and (in)ability to access active leisure. In turn, results from this study emphasize the importance of the relationship among the state, market, and family spheres for first time mothers’ well-being and identity, demonstrating their vulnerability to the theoretical and practical consequences of social policy (Kay, 2000). It also emphasizes the relationship between social positions of privilege that provide access to resources, such as time and money, that facilitate access to active leisure experiences.

Further, in highlighting the implications of intensive mothering ideologies, this study sheds light on the realities of post-partum life, particularly around the disjunction between ideology, expectations and how post-partum experiences unfold (Miller, 2007). Idealized expectations of motherhood leave first time mothers feeling a sense of disappointment, failure and being unprepared (Sutherland, 2010). However, research has demonstrated that having a realistic expectation orientation predicts a better adjustment in the transition to motherhood including fewer symptoms of depression (Churchill & Davis, 2010). As such, illuminating the disjunction between expectations and reality offers an opportunity to resist intensive mothering ideologies by bringing to light the true complexities of new motherhood. Highlighting these complexities will better support expecting and first time mothers themselves, in negotiating opportunities for active leisure in their lives.

In sum, the reality of intensive mothering ideologies and neoliberal social policy perspectives has implications for post-partum women’s lives in relation to active leisure participation. The women’s narratives are consistent with an individual responsibility approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle; yet problematically, this lens obscures the sociocultural and structural influences on their health and well-being. Reflecting on the mothers’ stories, if (mostly) White, heterosexual, cis-gendered, middle- and upper middle-class mothers are struggling, how are marginalized women managing when they cannot attain the intensive mothering and neoliberal healthy lifestyle ideals? Despite the challenges associated with their active leisure experiences, it was clear that is in some capacity, active leisure experiences helped the women negotiate the difficult and complex transition to motherhood. The findings here present an opportunity for prospective first time mothers, policymakers, and professionals to understand how intensive mothering ideologies and social policy impacts post-partum women’s lives and what actions might be taken to mitigate challenges and inequities.

Declarations of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Grant Number 430-2013-000777). Role of the funding source: The funding source had no involvement in the research design, writing of the report or decision to submit the article

Notes on contributors

Dawn E. Trussell

Dawn E. Trussell (PhD) is an associate professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Canada. Her research focuses on leisure and sport culture in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. She is the President of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies and is a Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence at Brock University.

Shannon Hebblethwaite

Shannon Hebblethwaite (PhD) is professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University in Montreal and an affiliated member of engAGE: Concordia’s Centre for Research on Aging and CREGES (Centre for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology). Her research centres around social inclusion for marginalized groups with a specific focus on older adults and leisure in families.

Trisha M. K. Xing

Trisha M. K. Xing is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University, Canada. Her research interests are child and youth development through recreation and leisure, as well as leisure and the transition to motherhood. Her current dissertation research focuses on the transformative potential of pre- and post-natal yoga during the transition to motherhood.

Stephanie Paterson

Stephanie Paterson (PhD) is professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She is an expert in feminist and critical policy studies, with interests in feminist governance and reproductive politics and motherhood.

Meredith Evans

Meredith Evans (MPPPA) is the Associate Registrar, Academic Records, Policies and Exams at Concordia University in Montreal Quebec. She completed her Master of Arts degree in public policy and public administration with a research focus on federal-provincial relations in international trade policy.

Notes

1. In January 2018, the Ontario Early Years Centres, Parenting and Family Literacy Centres, Child Care Resource Centres and Better Beginnings, Better Futures centres became collectively known as the EarlyON Child and Family Centres (Government of Ontario, 2017).

2. The province of Quebec is the exception. Quebec established the Quebec Parental Insurance program (QPIP) in 2006, which differs from the federal plan considerably allowing parents to adjust duration and benefit rates as they see fit and offers fathers 5 weeks of non-transferable parental leave.