Passing the test of motherhood? Self‐esteem development and birth experience in the transition to motherhood : A longitudinal mixed methods study in Finland

Aims To investigate women's childbirth experiences and their relation to self-esteem development in the postpartum year. Design A mixed methods study. Methods Women (N = 125) completed survey questionnaires regarding their self-esteem and childbirth experiences at three time points in 2020–2021: third trimester of pregnancy (T1), 4–8 weeks postpartum (T2) and 1 year postpartum (T3). The survey results were analysed using qualitative thematic and quantitative path analyses with latent change factors. The open-ended answers of the women who demonstrated a change in self-esteem between T2 and T3 were then compared. The STROBE checklist was used as the reporting guideline. Results The quantitat…