Mothers' experiences with feeding children with a gastrostomy tube: recontextualizing mothers' daily occupations

UnrestrictedBackground: One of the most intimate aspects of mothering is feeding a child. A change occurs in mothering occupations when a gastrostomy tube is placed in a child and the methods of feeding are altered. Frequently mothers feel as if they have failed when their children receive a gastrostomy tube. The majority of literature regarding children with g-tubes comes from a bio-medical perspective, focusing on the medical and technology aspects of a g-tube. Limited information can be found in the literature regarding the socio-cultural dimensions, mothering, and mother-child interactional aspects of parenting a child with a g-tube. This research proposes to fill a gap in the current literature surrounding mothering, feeding, and gastrostomies.; Purpose: To explore mothers‘ experiences of feeding and caring for children with a gastrostomy tube.; Methods: The study involved narrative and thematic analysis of interview data collected during in-depth narrative interviewing of seven mothers of children who were primarily fed through gastrostomy tubes.; Results: Mothers revealed the complexities inherent in caring for a child with a gastrostomy tube. Through their stories, mothers expressed the gains and unanticipated challenges after the placement of a gastrostomy tube and new ways of thinking about mothering in the context of chronic illness. Unique dimensions of mothering as related to caring for a child with a g-tube were discovered.; Conclusions: For all of the children and families, the g-tube was situated within a context of illness and fragility. The experiences with feeding the children by their g-tubes impacted the mothers‘ daily occupations and relationships with their children. The g-tube and associated occupations were what mothers and children were dealing with on an everyday basis. However, the illness story behind the g-tube was what had shaped its daily meaning. The g-tube was required for these children to receive calories and was a central part of their daily lives, but the families‘ stories also reflected that they were in a broader community of chronic illness and other health care needs. The mothers and children in my study were not able to firmly be situated in any one discourse, but instead crossed into areas of feeding, chronic illness, technology dependency, and mothering. The g-tube was very much its own entity that was easy to see, identify and had its own set of associated technical procedures. However, in the actual lives of the mothers and children the g-tube was a complicated embedded phenomenon that could be perceived to possibly have more to do with mothering than about feeding