The Infant Caring Process among Cherokee Mothers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the social process of infant care among Cherokee mothers. Nineteen informants, who had an infant less than 2 years of age, were interviewed. The data were analyzed using the technique of constant comparative analysis. A social process of Indian infant care among Cherokee mothers was identified. Eight conceptsemerged from data analysis. The first and principal concept, being a Cherokee mother, describes the functions of being an Indian mother in Cherokee society. The other seven concepts describe the patterns of cultural care the mothers provided to their infants. These included accommodating everyday infant care, accommodating health perspectives, building a care-providing consortium, living spiritually, merging the infant into Indian culture, using noncoercive discipline techniques, and vigilantly watching for the natural unfolding of the infant. Trustworthiness and credibility of the generated theory were evaluated through multiple measures.