Abstract
This study is part of a broader research on separation in the transition to parenthood. According to the growing rate of requests for marital separation from women, we aim to investigate the repercussions of marital dissolution on women in the transition to parenthood, in their perspective. As a theoretical reference, we used psychoanalytical, systemic, and psychosocial studies. We conducted 12 interviews with women from the middle class of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, aged between 30 and 40 years, who had separated from their partners at least two years before and during the period their first child was zero to two years old. For data analysis, we used the method of content analysis, in the categorial aspect. Three categories of analysis emerged from the narratives: paternity after marital separation; Adaptation to the new family arrangement; and social imaginary about the separate mother. The results pointed out that women were able to separate issues related to conjugality from those related to parenting, contributing to the good relation of the parental couple after the separation. They also showed that conservatism, prejudice, and sexism may have affected the post-separation period of the participants and may have contributed to their own resistance to establishing new relationships.
Keywords:
Conjugality; Transition to parenthood; Separation