The motherhood role expectations for young female patients with breast cancer: a qualitative study

Background: Breast cancer critically disrupts young mothers' capacity to fulfill motherhood role functions, while reshaping family expectations. There is a lack of research on the expectations of motherhood after diagnosed with breast cancer among young women. This study aims to explore young Chinese breast cancer patients' motherhood role expectations from multiple perspectives, including patients' and family members' voices. Methods: This study recruited participants via purposive sampling, including 20 young women with breast cancer, 6 spouses, and 4 children. All participants took part in face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews. The Colaizzi descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the interview data. Results: Two core dimensions of motherhood role expectations were identified by this study among young women with breast cancer and their families: self-oriented expectations and parental responsibility expectations. Self-oriented expectations cover two key themes: safeguarding life and maintaining the dignity of motherhood. Parental responsibility expectations include two themes: taking care of the child like a normal mother and effectively addressing breast cancer-related challenges. Conclusion: For young breast cancer patients and their families, expectations regarding the patient's role as a mother revolve around two key aspects: the patient's own health and the discharge of parental responsibilities. Although the patient's health condition forms the foundation of realizing these motherhood role expectations, the ability to cope with the multifaceted challenges related to breast cancer constitutes a unique requirement for them to fulfill this role after diagnosis.