257 The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 3 Disparities in mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period, have been observed in rural areas among mothers when compared to those residing in urban areas (Nidey et al., 2020). Factors associated with poor mental health outcomes outlined by Nidey and colleagues (2020) included socioeconomic barriers commonly found in rural contexts, such as limited access to services. Additionally, mothers living in rural areas were more likely to be younger, unmarried, and publicly insured and to possess lower education levels than their urban counterparts (Nidey et al., 2020). Geographic isolation, limited resources, and the stigma associated with mental illness can cause rural residents to avoid seeking mental health care (Letvak, 2002). Within low-income rural populations, maternal distress is significantly predicted by experiences of emotional abuse, recent stressors, and discrimination (Ruyak et al., 2022). New mothers in rural communities deal with several challenges regarding limited health care services and support access. These challenges can be further complicated by a history of trauma and rejection, which may create barriers to seeking social relationships and hinder their recovery (Hine et al., 2017). Building trust with others can be difficult when social support is limited. According to a study conducted in the midwestern United States (Eapen et al., 2019), pregnant women living in rural areas received significant support from their partners and female relatives. The mothers often expressed their desire to have access to emotional support and maintain social support throughout their pregnancy from partners and social networks of relatives and friends. Understanding Rural Mothers’ Postpartum Social and Emotional Experiences Counseling researchers have not thoroughly explored the postpartum experiences of rural mothers. The current understanding of childbirth is limited to outdated studies related to prenatal care (Choate & Gintner, 2011) and postpartum depression (Albright, 1993; Pfost et al., 1990), with little to no understanding of the social and emotional factors contributing to these conditions. Furthermore, a lack of knowledge about rural mothers’ social and emotional experiences during the postpartum period exists, including what factors contribute to these experiences. This study sought to understand mothers’ postpartum social and emotional experiences in rural communities. We defined social experiences as the verbal, nonverbal, and interactive events that occurred between the postpartum women and individuals (e.g., friends, family, neighbors) in their community. We defined emotional experiences as events that impacted the mothers psychologically during the period after giving birth. The research question that this study aimed to address was: What are the postpartum social and emotional experiences of mothers in rural communities? Method We used a qualitative research approach to understand the postpartum experiences of women who identify as biological mothers in rural communities. Specifically, we selected transcendental phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994) for this study’s methodology. Drawing from a realist ontology and constructivist epistemology (Flynn et al., 2019), Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology is congruent with this study’s purpose and research question, which desired to understand the lived experiences of postpartum mothers in rural communities. Additionally, Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology provided a methodological context that emphasized the bracketing of prior assumptions and knowledge (i.e., epoche) among the members of the research team to distinguish, understand, and describe the particular postpartum experiences of the participants.
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