Well-being and personal growth in emerging motherhood–and what about meaning?

Theoretical and empirical literature in positive psychology highlights the potential benefits of challenging life events, demonstrating that the need to adapt to demanding and stressful circumstances may lead to a new understanding of life, self-worth, and the quality of social interactions. In other words, challenging life transitions may affect well-being and engender personal growth. Though the transition to motherhood and the experience of being a mother are considered positive life events that typically arouse delight, pleasure, and self-fulfillment, they may also be accompanied by a variety of stresses. This chapter reviews cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of first-time and more experienced mothers in both normative and unique circumstances, and discusses the interrelations between well-being, growth, and meaning in the experience of motherhood, including internal and external resources, which may contribute to positive outcomes. The summary of current findings is accompanied by insights regarding the interpretation of existing knowledge and the questions that remain to be answered by future research.