產後母乳哺餵婦女之身體改變經驗

Abstract

研究背景： 目前針對產後哺乳婦女的相關文獻大多著重於如何成功哺乳及社會支持等研究，對於產後哺乳婦女的身體改變經驗，例如身體心像或性生活經驗等尚未充分揭露。 研究目的： 透過哺乳婦女的表達描述，探討及解釋哺乳婦女對其產後身體改變及性生活經驗之感受，使哺乳婦女產後主觀感受與經驗得以揭露。 研究方法： 本研究以Merleau-Ponty的理論作為方法論的基礎，採質性研究的方法，立意取樣臺灣北部醫學中心產後三個月左右之產後婦女，進行深入訪談，並以現象學研究法進行分析。 研究結果： 共收案18位產後婦女，包含14位初產婦，4位經產婦。研究結果呈現兩個核心主題，核心主題一：「產後的身體不是我的身體」，此主題呈現產後婦女的身體不完全屬於她自己；產後身體改變以及新生兒的誕生也讓婦女經歷性生活衝突，許多的改變使婦女的身體不完全掌握在她自己身上。核心主題二：「重新認識產後的身體」，此主題描述婦女在產後身體及性生活轉變過程中，她們如何適應、接納、認識這樣的改變，並賦予新的意義。 結論： 婦女的產後身體經驗描述過程中，反映出產後婦女是如何成為他人觀看下的「客體」，產後婦女經由他人的視覺而認同自己的主體存在，她們在社會規訓、男性觀看中喪失主體性，但她們在這樣的衝突下找回「客體」與「主體」間的平衡，她們既是主體也是客體。 產後婦女身體經驗廣受生理、心理、社會角色、伴侶關係所影響，本研究結果使哺乳婦女產後主觀感受與經驗得以傳達，促使專業照顧人員更能了解產後哺乳婦女的身體與性生活經驗，期望產後指導不僅是專業人員給予指導，能透過尊重傾聽產後婦女的想法，兩者互為主體，使產後婦女更能在主客體間達到安適。

Background Studies regarding breastfeeding women are mostly leaning towards how to breastfeed successfully and to be supported by social systems. Little has been explored regarding how breastfeeding women perceive their body image and sexual lives. Purpose The author aims to explore and explain how breastfeeding women perceive their body images and sexual life experiences by interpreting the verbal and non-verbal information from the interviews so that the subjective feelings and experiences of breastfeeding women can be delivered. Method Based on Merleau-Ponty’s theory, this qualitative study was conducted with purposive sampling, personally with these women, approximately 3 months after childbirth. The data was collected by in-depth, open-ended interviews and analyzed with the phenomenological analysis. Results A total of 18 postpartum women were involved in this study, including 14 primiparas and 4 multiparas. The results identified two major themes: 1. “My postpartum body is not my own” mainly showed the perception that postpartum women’s bodies no longer belong to themselves. This leads them to experience both, changes to their body image physically and psychologically, and conflicts regarding their sexual lives with their partners. 2. “Refamiliarization with the postpartum body”describes how women adapt, accept, recognize, and give new meaning to such changes in postpartum physical and sexual life. Conclusion The process of women's postpartum experience description reflects how postpartum women become 'objects' viewed by others. Namely, postpartum women recognize their subjective existence through the vision of others. They lose their subjectivity in social discipline and male viewing. But under such conflicts, they find the balance between 'object' and 'subject'. They are both subjects and objects. Additionally, postpartum women’s experience is widely influenced by physiology, psychology, social roles, and partner relationships. The results of this study deliver the insights of the postpartum subjective feelings and experiences of breastfeeding women. Thus, it assists professional caregivers could better understand the postpartum breastfeeding women’s physical and sexual experiences. Ultimately, postpartum guidance is not unilateral guidance by professionals but also through listening to the thoughts of postpartum women by respecting them so that they can be more comfortable between the subject and the object.