TY - JOUR

T1 - Poverty after Birth

T2 - How Mothers Experience and Navigate U.S. Safety Net Programs to Address Family Needs

AU - Marti-Castaner, Maria

AU - Pavlenko, Tonya

AU - Engel, Ruby

AU - Sanchez, Karen

AU - Crawford, Allyson E.

AU - Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

AU - Wimer, Christopher

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Although pregnancy and the first year of life are sensitive windows for child development, we know very little about the lived experiences of mothers living in poverty or near poverty during the perinatal period; specifically, how they perceive and use public resources to support themselves and their newborn. In this qualitative study, we explore how predominantly Black and Latinx mothers with infants living in or near poverty and engaged in public assistance manage to meet their family’s needs with available resources from safety net programs and social supports. We conducted 20 qualitative interviews with mothers living in (85%) or near poverty in New York City (NYC). All participants (mean age = 24) had an 11-month-old infant at the time of the interview. Using thematic analysis, we identified five main themes reflecting how mothers experience and navigate living with very low incomes while engaging in public assistance programs: (1) experiencing cascading effects of hardships during pregnancy, (2) relying on food assistance and informal supports amid scarcity, (3) waiting for limited affordable housing: ‘life on hold’, (4) finding pathways towards stability after the baby’s birth, (5) making it work: efforts to look forward. Results describe how the current focus on “work first” of existing federal and state policies adds a layer of stress and burden on the lives of single mothers experiencing low incomes and entangled hardships during pregnancy and after birth. We document how mothers experience coverage gaps and implementation challenges navigating the patchwork of public assistance programs, yet how the support of flexible caseworkers accessing, using, and coordinating assistance has the potential to help mothers plan for longer-term goals.

AB - Although pregnancy and the first year of life are sensitive windows for child development, we know very little about the lived experiences of mothers living in poverty or near poverty during the perinatal period; specifically, how they perceive and use public resources to support themselves and their newborn. In this qualitative study, we explore how predominantly Black and Latinx mothers with infants living in or near poverty and engaged in public assistance manage to meet their family’s needs with available resources from safety net programs and social supports. We conducted 20 qualitative interviews with mothers living in (85%) or near poverty in New York City (NYC). All participants (mean age = 24) had an 11-month-old infant at the time of the interview. Using thematic analysis, we identified five main themes reflecting how mothers experience and navigate living with very low incomes while engaging in public assistance programs: (1) experiencing cascading effects of hardships during pregnancy, (2) relying on food assistance and informal supports amid scarcity, (3) waiting for limited affordable housing: ‘life on hold’, (4) finding pathways towards stability after the baby’s birth, (5) making it work: efforts to look forward. Results describe how the current focus on “work first” of existing federal and state policies adds a layer of stress and burden on the lives of single mothers experiencing low incomes and entangled hardships during pregnancy and after birth. We document how mothers experience coverage gaps and implementation challenges navigating the patchwork of public assistance programs, yet how the support of flexible caseworkers accessing, using, and coordinating assistance has the potential to help mothers plan for longer-term goals.

KW - Early childcare

KW - Homelessness

KW - Housing

KW - Maternal health

KW - Poverty

KW - Qualitative research

U2 - 10.1007/s10826-022-02322-0

DO - 10.1007/s10826-022-02322-0

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35539282

AN - SCOPUS:85129530092

VL - 31

SP - 2248

EP - 2265

JO - Journal of Child and Family Studies

JF - Journal of Child and Family Studies

SN - 1062-1024

ER -