• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.5-27
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• 1995

One of the important tasks for new parents, especially mothers, is to establish warm, mutually affirming interpersonal relationships with the new baby in the family, with the purpose of promoting the health development of the child and the well-being of the whole family. Nurses assess the quality of the behavioral characteristics of the maternal-infant interaction. The purpose of this longitudinal descriptive correlational study is to investigate the changes of the mother - infant interactions from postpartum 1 day to postpartum 8weeks of the transition to parenthood. The aim was to contribute to the development of theoretical under standing on which to base care toward promoting the quality of maternal - infant interaction. Data were collect ed directly by the investigator and at rained from Jul, 1, 1990 to Jun 8, 1991, Subjects were a random sample of 44 mothers, 44 who had a normal delivery (but with out other perinatal complications) at four general hospitals in Seoul. Instruments used were the Stainton Parent-infant Interaction Scale (1981). The first observations were made in the delivery room, followed by day 1, day 2, day 3 and 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks after, birth, for a total of 8 contacts. Observations in the hospital were made during the hour prior to scheduled feedings. The infant was placed beside the mother. Later contacts were made at home. Data analysis was don by computer using as SPSS program and included, Paired t-test, t-test and Pearson Correlation coefficient ; the results were as follows. 1. The daily maternal-infant interaction score for the initial contact ofter birth to 8 weeks postpartum had the lowest average score 5.21 and the highest 8.02(in a range of 0-10). This subject group of mothers needed Extra nursing supporting to promote their maternal-infant interaction. 2. The daily scores for the maternal-infant interaction tended to rise, showing a gradual improvement over the period of eight weeks. However, there were significantly different increases in maternal-infant interaction only from the first to second day (p=0.000) and from the fourth to sixth weeks ofter birth.(p=0.000) 3. When the seven items of maternal-infant interaction were evaluated items of maternal-infant inter action were evaluated separately, "Care taking for the baby" had the highest average score, 1.60(in a range of 0-2) and "Speaks to baby" the lowest, 0.8. All items, suggested the subjects' need of nursing intervention to promote maternal-infant interaction 4. There were positive correlations between certain general characteristics, namely, both a higher economic status (p=0.027) and breast feeding (p=0.021) and maternal-infant interaction.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.77-98
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• 2016

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore perceived meanings of dating and marriage among well-educated Korean couples who were in optimal marriageable ages. Particularly, an emphasis was placed on finding out where the traditional gender norms and post-modern contexts intersect on the couples' course of dating and marriage. Method: We undertook a qualitative analysis of 8 couples (age: 26-34) dating. Participants were limited to university graduates of upper-middle rank universities in Seoul, South Korea. The rationale for choosing such sample was based on the idea that characteristics of class is inherent in the act of dating and marriage, and that such characteristics lead to different contextual experiences in dating and marriage. This study was based on interviews conducted over a three-month time span. The interviews were first transcribed into research text and then subjects and key categories were drawn from the transcripts for analysis. Results: Participants sought meanings of joy, learning, and self-improvement in dating, and they were free from traditional gender norms in their romantic relationships. They viewed marriage as having a permanent companionship with their partner, becoming independent from their parents, and/or a social norm to be followed. Participants reported mixed perceptions about marriage in such fashion that they described their parents' relationship in terms of a gendered leader-supporter relationship, while viewing their own relationship as being genderless partners. In transition to parenthood, however, they regressed to traditional gender norms dichotomized as women being a homemaker and men being a breadwinner. In sum, participants displayed expectations that were inconsistent with regard to dating and marriage over the study period. That is, during the course of dating and early marriage, they did not hold separated gender norms; however, when transitioning from being a newly married couple to giving their first childbirth, expectations shifted to traditional gender norms and values. Conclusion: This suggests that it is not marriage, but the experience of childbirth and motherhood, which strengthen traditional gendered norms, engendering regeneration of the gender norms in families. The results indicate that there is a need to promote co-parenting behavior among the newly-married couples and to educate gender equality about parent roles or for parents in South Korea so that they can overcome traditional gendered norms in family.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.182-227
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• 1998

Korean government decided to adopt an explicit population control policy in 1961 and from the following year the establishment and operation of the national family planning programme was included in each of the Five-Year Economic Development Plans that began in 1962. This policy was pursued in the understanding that without proper population control measures korea could not be able to achieve economic development. Korean national family planning programme is characterized by contraceptive target system through public health network with distribution of free contraceptives by family planning field workers and clinical contraceptive services such as IUD, vasectomy and tubaligation at designated clinics by the government. In addition, IE&C activities by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea and programme evaluation and research by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs contributed to the development of the government programme. Between 1960 and mid 1980s the nation's total fertility rate was reduced from 6.0 to population replacement level of 2.1 and thereafter it has been maintained at 1.6 to 1.7 of below replacement level. With a short period of less than three decades fertility transition was completed in Korea. It is estimated that if the current level of below replacement fertility continues, the population in Korea stabilize at around 52.78 million people by the year 2028, and it will begin to decrease thereafter. Under this circumstances, the government adopted new directions and strategies of the population policy in June 1996, focused primarily on population quality and social welfare than on demographic arenas. In spite of over 80 percent of high contraceptive prevalence among married women, high incidence of induced abortions is maintained. Moreover, the prevalence of sex selective induced abortions using procedures to determine the sex of the fetus has resulted in an imbalance in the sex ratio at birth. In order to overcome those problems associated with reproductive health new policy for population quality control and health promotion programme should be highly strengthened in the future.