MOTHERHOOD AND COPING: A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION FELT FIRSTHAND

Abstract

This article refers to an excerpt from scientific initiation research, which sought to understand how the process of becoming a mother and mothering was constructed historically, socially and culturally. This research was carried out through a literature review, configuring itself as exploratory based on the literary reference The Myth of Maternal Love by Elisabeth Badinter. As a result, it was possible to perceive that several discourses such as: philosophical, political, cultural, economic and social contributed to the creation and maintenance of the belief in an idealization and romanticization of becoming a mother. It is concluded that this belief, considered as fixed and unique, contributes to suffering, illness and feelings such as guilt, feelings of low competence, anguish and frustration of women in the face of motherhood, directly impacting the choice to be a mother.