Abstract (eng)
According to John Bowlby’s Bonding Theory the bond between mother and child is a determining factor for the child's emotional development. The bonding starts in the sensitive period after birth, which makes this time so very important. Ideally mother and child have the chance to get to know and feel the presence of each other right after birth; however, not every birth takes place as planned. Unplanned caesarean sections often happen to be a shock for the mothers and affect the bonding with the newborn. The World Health Organisation recommends to keep the rate of cesareans under 15% per year. The Austrian rate lies above these recommendations, which makes this topic very relevant for research and practice. The presented master thesis deals with the mothers‘ experiences of bonding with their children after unplanned caesareans and the nurses' role in this process. John Bowlby’s Bonding Theory and Afaf Ibrahim Meleis‘ Theory of Transitions build up the theoretical background for this thesis. Seven guided interviews are analysed based on the methods of the Grounded Theory. The core phenomenon seems to be that mothers are in a state of exception after caesareans but feel that the hospital’s staff do not notice their misery, which leaves an unfulfilled need of help. The mothers quite often enter their new maternal role under most distressing circumstances. For the staff, unplanned caesareans are a part of the daily routine; however, for the affected mothers they mean severe experiences. The author of this thesis concludes that there is a demand for further examination of this topic in order to strengthen the bonding between mother and child even under difficult conditions.