It Never Ends: Mothering as a Lifetime Occupation

Little understanding exists of the occupation of mothering and how it changes and evolves throughout the life-course. Research to date has focused on how a child influences the marital dyad, with little exploration of the mothering experience. Occupational therapy literature has primarily focused on mothering within the context of illness and disability without first gaining a perspective of everyday mothering tasks and activities. Through in-depth interviews and focus groups, this study examines the mothering experiences of 17 American women ranging in age from 32 to 83 years. Emergent themes discussed in this paper include mothering as a lifetime occupation and the influence of the perfect mother image on the occupation of mothering.