Maternal experience in addict women: a metasynthesis

Today, community nurses are challenged by the issues of motherhood, family health, and increased addiction among women. Attention to these issues has been emphasized by many organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN). The aim of the present study was to determine the most recent nursing studies about these phenomena and to create a large compilation of the results of these qualitative studies. This was a metasynthesis of 3 studies on addicted women; 2 studies were ethnographies and 1 was a retrospective qualitative research. The sample consisted of 56 women. The Hare and Nobilt procedure was used in the present study. The 5 core concepts obtained included positive attitude toward drugs and fear of the effect of drugs on the child before birth, the feeling of being an addicted mother, ambivalence and the ability to confront suffering, being an ideal mother and decreasing the sense of guilt, affective fibrillation and addiction recurrence due to lack of community and family support. Paying attention to addicted mothers, as the most vulnerable segment of society, and consideration of their experiences will be effective in reducing social problems and success of counter drugs programs. Providing support for these mothers because of numerous physical and mental problems is a priority. The availability of suitable social conditions and support for addicted women will increase the probability of their successful return to family and community.