At least 40 years ago,
Reva Rubin, a nurse specializing in maternity
care doing doctoral work at the University of Chicago,
carefully observed women during their pregnancy, labor
and delivery and during the early postpartum period.
She integrated those observations into a theory about
the development of maternal identity. There are four
maternal tasks the mother deals with during pregnancy.
These are (1) seeking safe passage; (2) ensuring the
acceptance of the child by others; (3) binding in or
bonding with the fetus; and (4) learning to give of
oneself.(Extract from:
Stepping Up: What's New: Stress in Pregnancy &
Motherhood Readiness. From a presentation by
Kathryn E. Barnard on May 12, 2003).
Rubin introduced the concept of
Maternal Role Attainment in the late nineteen
sixties.(Rubin, 1967). She described the maternal role
as a complex cognitive and social process which is
learned, reciprocal, and interactive. Maternal
identity is considered the culmination or end-point of
MRA, characterized by the woman’s comfort in her role.
Rubin’s work focused on “traditional” mothers and
dealt with MRA from the point of acceptance of the
pregnancy to one month postpartum.
Building on the work of Rubin, Ramona Mercer studied
mothers of all age groups and experiences and created
the practice-oriented theory of MRA (Mercer, 1981,
Mercer, 1985, Mercer, 1986). She expanded on Rubin’s
time frame for MRA, extending the process to 12 months
postpartum.
Mercer’s theory has had tremendous impact on
researchers in the parent child arena and is the chief
theoretical framework upon which many studies in this
field are based (Kemp, Sibley, & Pond, 1990, Koniak-Griffin
& Verzemnieks, 1991, Mercer, 1985, Mercer, 1986).
(Extract from:
Ann T. Sartore,RN). (Reva Rubin- Mercer’s
Professor and Mentor).
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