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‘If I was in my daughter’s body I’d be feeling devastated’: women’s experiences of mothering an overweight or obese child

School of Nursing, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Lesley Wilkes, RN, PhD

University of Western Sydney, and Sydney West Area Health Service, Australia

Glenda Mcdonald, BSocSc, Grad.Dip.Soc.Sc(Adult Ed.)

University of Western Sydney, Australia

Overweight and obesity in children is a major and ongoing public health concern and the negative physical, social, and psychological sequelae of childhood obesity are well documented. Parents, particularly mothers, are implicated in discourses around childhood obesity; however, little is known about women’s experiences of mothering an overweight or obese child. This article reports findings from a narrative-based study that sought to develop understandings into women’s experiences of mothering an overweight or obese child. The findings provide insights into the experiences of mothering an overweight or obese child, and reveals how the climate of blame associated with mothering an overweight or obese child complicated the mothering experience for the women in this study. These insights can assist health, welfare and child care workers to understand the importance of establishing supportive and no-blame relationships with mothers of obese and overweight children, in order to develop supportive therapeutic alliances better.

Key Words: child health • childhood obesity • mother-blaming • motherhood • qualitative research

Journal of Child Health Care, Vol. 11, No. 1, 29-39 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1367493507073059


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