Philippine E-Journals

Unconditional Love: The Lived – Experience of Filipino Mothers with a First Born Child with Cleft Lip

Reyann Varona | Michael Angelo Felipe | Federick Gerald Imperial | Allysa Melitante | Ma. Lexandra Sunga | Pauleen Micah Sevilla | Mary Joy Salaum | Fritz April Palanog | Renamie Joy Andrada

Discipline: Health, Nursing

 

Abstract:

Each individual is a unique persona. Thus, coping mechanism and length of adjustment varies from one person to the other. When a person encountered a difficult situation, it is normal to feel depress. It is often believe that, the mother of the person experiencing crisis would be the most affected significant one during the ordeal. Child with physical deformity specifically cleft lip may suffer from the judgments of the society. Nevertheless, the mother experiences twice of these sufferings and more. There are those who blame themselves with regard to their child’s appearance. They believe that cleft lip is solely a result of their wrong doings and shortcomings during their pregnancy, not knowing that there are a lot of reasons and situations that can result to such defect and not on the mother’s action alone. Our research study focused on the lived – experiences of 2 mothers with a first born cleft lip – affected child. This study also aims to know how a mother reacts and adjusts to her first born child with a cleft lip. We used the qualitative approach in order to fully broaden the participants’ minds. We used the phenomenological method in conducting the study. It is phenomenological since it focuses on the process of learning and constructing the meaning of human experience through intensive dialogue with persons who are living the experience. Using the 7D Prism Eidetic of Filipino Mothers’ Experiences with Child having Physical Deformity, results came up with the 7D’s. The disbelief, defensive, dramatic, dismay, determined, devoted and dismissal. The 7D’s summarized the stages of the participants’ adjustment when they found out about the condition of their child. We came up with a conclusion that though mothers are torn between ambivalent feelings of acceptance and unacceptance, the unconditional love of the subjects toward their child cannot be denied. Resistance is part of the process. Multidimensional caring attitude is manifested throughout the themes.