Les co-occupations au centre de l’expérience de la matrescence : une étude exploratoire descriptive sur le vécu des transitions occupationnelles des nouvelles mères lactantes et allaitantes

INTRODUCTION. Becoming a parent is accompanied by numerous changes that impact the occupational repertoire. In this context, occupational transitions, are, among other things, characterized by the addition of co-occupations shared with the baby. Breastfeeding is one of the many co-occupations that can be added when the baby arrives, and its experience is strongly linked to the transition to the new role of mother. However, very few studies have focused on the occupational transitions inherent in becoming a new breastfeeding parent, and this perspective could potentially help better support people experiencing these occupational transitions. An occupational model could provide a relevant perspective to understand this experience, the Personcentered Occupational Model of Matrescence (POMM) (Slootjes, 2021), but it was developed based on professional knowledge. OBJECTIVES. 1) explore the experience of occupational transitions of the new lactating and breastfeeding parent - from the perspective of breastfeeding as a co-occupation; and 2) to test, in an exploratory manner, the contribution of the POMM (Slootjes, 2021) to understanding the occupational transitions experienced by the breastfeeding and lactating parent. METHODS. The study is based on an exploratory descriptive design and is rooted in the intersection of experiential and professional occupational therapy knowledge. Parents with a 3-6 month old baby fed with their milk (≥ 3 months) who are also occupational therapists were recruited through the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec (n=5). A purposive sampling strategy was implemented, aimed at a diversity of breastfeeding experiences. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview, then subjected to grounded theory analysis, according to the empirical approach proposed by Paillé (1994). RESULTS. The occupational transitions of new lactating and breastfeeding mothers are multiple, complex, successive, and manifest through: the cessation or modification of all occupations prior to birth; the addition of shared occupations with the baby or co-occupations; the modification and cessation over time of some of these co-occupations; and the eventual return of some of the parent's previous occupations. While the results suggest that the POMM does not explain the experience of the participants, they highlight the centrality of co-occupations during matrescence, thus allowing for an innovative enhancement of the Co-occupational Engagement Spectrum (Slootjes, 2021). DISCUSSION The notions of occupational return, the centrality of cooccupations, and the evolving nature of occupational transitions surrounding matrescence bring new insights to existing knowledge on occupational transitions.

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