"More Than Just a Manicure" Qualitative Experiences of Maternal Self-Care During COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented families with novel challenges. Mothers were at particular risk for parental burnout, however, there is limited research on self-care behaviors to ameliorate it explicitly for mothers of young children (aged 3 and younger). Moreover, there has been little in-depth analysis on barriers to self-care and how mothers realistically implement it in their lives.Methods: In this article, we explore influences on and barriers to self-care in mothers of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a content analysis approach, we used verbal testimony from mothers to create a coding framework and applied that framework to the sample (N = 717).Results: Qualitative analyses revealed that beauty and personal care were the most utilized self-care acts. Two major barriers were lack of childcare and limited time. Social support was the most frequently reported asset to engaging in self-care. Participants noted that the pandemic significantly restricted their access to activities and social support.Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need to encourage mothers to prioritize self-care and incorporate their support systems to facilitate engagement. These results can inform programming to increase self-care behaviors in mothers, particularly during times of high environmental stressors. Future research should examine how resources can be allocated toward barriers of self-care to reduce burnout and improve quality of life.