Conference abstract
Hysterectomy and symbolic damage: when the desire for motherhood is reactivated in a nun
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:17(53).04
Jun 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.17.53.1571
Archived on: 04 Jun 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Hysterectomy, symbolic damage, desire for motherhood
Poster
Hysterectomy and symbolic damage: when the desire for motherhood is reactivated in a nun
Ndje Ndje Mireille1,&
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Art, Letters and Human Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
The improvement in the physical aspects of hysterectomy has tended to make us forget the psychological burden of this operation for many women. African women closely associate fertility and femininity, and they fear that their desire will diminish and that they will be less desirable after having undergone a hysterectomy. Medicine may be tempted to trivialize this surgical intervention by relying on the evolution of current surgery that leaves little or no marks. It is possible to think that the uterus is useless for a nun who has decided to freely disregard her motherhood. We used the clinical research method for this study. Through a non-directive interview guide, we collected the verbatims of an hysterectomized catholic nun. The verbatims were transcribed and analyzed with thematic content analysis. This analysis shows that the medical reality does not always correspond to the subjective experience of women, for whom hysterectomy can imply strong symbolic damage. The uterus is not essential to life, but it is essential to give life and this lack can reactivate a desire for motherhood. The experience of a hysterectomy is unique for each woman in relation to her history. This operation will eliminate all hope of pregnancy; it will be felt as an intimate mutilation and an attack on femininity, and it will bring up concerns about sexuality. Even if a woman has passed the age of having children, has gone through menopause, or has freely decided not to have children, she still finds it difficult to accept this procedure. The lack of a uterus makes a woman feel useless.
Hysterectomy and symbolic damage: when the desire for motherhood is reactivated in a nun
Ndje Ndje Mireille1,&
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Art, Letters and Human Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
The improvement in the physical aspects of hysterectomy has tended to make us forget the psychological burden of this operation for many women. African women closely associate fertility and femininity, and they fear that their desire will diminish and that they will be less desirable after having undergone a hysterectomy. Medicine may be tempted to trivialize this surgical intervention by relying on the evolution of current surgery that leaves little or no marks. It is possible to think that the uterus is useless for a nun who has decided to freely disregard her motherhood. We used the clinical research method for this study. Through a non-directive interview guide, we collected the verbatims of an hysterectomized catholic nun. The verbatims were transcribed and analyzed with thematic content analysis. This analysis shows that the medical reality does not always correspond to the subjective experience of women, for whom hysterectomy can imply strong symbolic damage. The uterus is not essential to life, but it is essential to give life and this lack can reactivate a desire for motherhood. The experience of a hysterectomy is unique for each woman in relation to her history. This operation will eliminate all hope of pregnancy; it will be felt as an intimate mutilation and an attack on femininity, and it will bring up concerns about sexuality. Even if a woman has passed the age of having children, has gone through menopause, or has freely decided not to have children, she still finds it difficult to accept this procedure. The lack of a uterus makes a woman feel useless.
