Investigation of the experiences of mothers whose children with Down Syndrome, within the context of posttraumatic growth

The aim of the study is to investigate the experiences of mothers who have children with Down Syndrome in the context of post-traumatic growth, and to present the relationship of these experiences with concepts of gender and mothering by feminist perspective. In this study, grounded theory method, which is one of the qualitative methods, was used. The data were collected by using purposive sampling, which is one of the sampling methods, in order to construct theory. 30 mothers of children with Down Syndrome who are registered in special education and rehabilitation center were selected for an in-depth interview. In the interview, a semi-structured interview form was used. Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory approach guided in-depth interviews with 30 women, whose data were analyzed according to the constant comparative method. The results showed that mothers who have children with Down Syndrome had effects of post-traumatic growth, in addition, they had changes in 5 different dimensions of post-traumatic growth. As a reflection of gender inequality to caregiving, women reported that they had to leave their jobs to give care for their own children, they took responsibilities of domestic works and caregiving alone. Also, it was observed that women who want to divorce are not able to get a divorce from their husbands due to the economic dependence to their husbands. In this process, women reported that fathers of children with Down Syndrome just took financial responsibilities, and they just support their own wives when they are in state agencies. The participants were sensitive about their own children, and they evaluated their children as a gift from God. They hallowed their mothering in this context. The participants who want to be a wonderful mother have concerns related to their children, and they are selective in terms of other people. Lack of knowledge about diagnosis, inattentive behaviors of health care professionals and society, and lack of education made difficult the all experienced processes of women. On the other hand, social support has an opposite effect on these processes. Finally, women came side by side with the other women who experienced same situation at school, cafe, hospital et cetera, and they experienced a struggling partnership by sharing their own knowledge with each other. Key words: Post traumatic growth, Down Syndrome, mothering, care, grounded theory