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ABSTRACT

Becoming a mother for the first time offers mothers the opportunity to affiliate with a new peer group of other mothers; however, along with this association comes an unexpected and profound peer pressure. This article examines the psychological and emotional impact that the peer pressure of first-time motherhood can have on a woman.

"Peer pressure" is a term generally associated with the social pains of the preteen and teenage years and not typically thought of in terms of motherhood, but don't be misled... peer pressure is prevalent, even rampant, amongst brand new mothers. A quick understanding of peer pressure in childhood will help to frame this interesting developmental concept, often part of becoming a mother. As children approach adolescence, a drive towards independence from their parents pushes them toward their peer group as their main source of validation, knowledge, and information. Parents are eschewed as an annoyance. As teens push themselves out further and further into the ocean of peer validation, they find it imperative to accept, to embrace, and to conform to the expectations, mores, and the codes of their group. This dramatic pressure to fit in with the group is much more significant for girls than for boys. Girls are more judgmental, more critical, and have many more rules of social conduct than do boys. It's a complicated world and girls must work hard at being successfully a part of ft. The natural need for females to affiliate with other females makes it rare that a girl will reject the group all together.

What does all of this mean for first-time mothers? In fact, many new mothers find themselves in a position similar to the one of which they had been a part during their adolescent years. The world of new mothers is equally judgmental and includes just as much pressure as the world of teens. The insecurities of first-time mothers are quite similar too.

Becoming a mother for the first time is a dramatic shift in identity, both physical and emotional. The similarities to adolescence - with its pubertal and emotional shifts - is quite easy to see. Having a...

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