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Abstract: The middle range theory of maternal role attainment by Ramona Mercer, Ph. D, RN, FAAN was originally created to better understand the process of becoming a mother and achieving the role of motherhood. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Mercer's theory and describe its uses in the practice of doulas and childbirth educators. The theory is simple in its concepts, but there are many variables affecting maternal role attainment. The theory of maternal role attainment would best fit in a nursing environment that directly interacts with the childbearing family. The theory of maternal role attainment has many positive aspects and has contributed greatly to parent-child nursing.
Keywords: Ramona Mercer, maternal role attainment, motherhood
Introduction
Establishing a solid maternal identity will further enhance the woman's psychosocial development, which ultimately increases her adaptive functioning (Mercer, 2004). Healthcare professionals and childbirth educators working with pre and post-partum mothers see the importance of mother-infant bonding. The process of bonding, especially through maternal role attainment, is essential for basic survival needs of the child and mental health needs of both the mother and child.
Reva Rubin first developed a theory on maternal identity and role attainment in 1967, which was taken and expanded upon by Mercer. The initial work by Rubin forced nurses to look at the tricky process of becoming a mother and finding ways to help rather than focusing on the physical aspects of childbearing (Mercer, 2004). This is a client-oriented theory that adapts to each mothers' individual needs. Mercer improved the application of the theory by lengthening the postpartum timeframe to 12 months to fully evaluate the mother's change into motherhood. Nurses, doulas, childbirth educators and healthcare professionals can promote healthy maternal role attainment and work to develop positive outcomes for the childbearing family.
Components of Theory
This theory is very complex and has multiple concepts, which led Mercer to use Thornton and Nardi's (1975) four stages of role acquisition to help better explain the theory. The anticipatory stage occurs before pregnancy and when the female undergoes psychosocial preparation for the future role (Mercer, 2004). The formal stage begins at birth and is when the mother imitates experts on mothering skills. Whenever the mother begins caring for the infant by using her own...