Maternal experience regarding the deafness of the child under the perspective of narcissism in psychoanalytic theory = Vivência materna frente à surdez do filho sob a perspectiva do narcisismo na teoria psicanalítica = Vivencia materna frente a la sordera del hijo bajo la perspectiva del narcisismo en la teoría psicoanalítica

Abstract

Hearing deficiency is considered one of the most disabling. The family of disabled children faces inherent difficulties in communication, conflicts, affectivity, and child integration. The aim of this study was to understand how mothers experienced motherhood in the face of the deafness of the child, from the perspective of narcissism in psychoanalytic theory, in a qualitative study. The participants were mothers of deaf children undergoing treatment at a cochlear implant service at a reference hospital in Recife. The diagnosis was received by mothers with emotional suffering, impact and fragility af-fecting maternal narcissism. However, it was noticed that the mothers were jubilant to point to the children’s auditory acquisition made possible by the cochlear implant, indicating that this device could nourish the maternal nar-cissism, which imaginatively recomposes the body. The health professionals will have to respect the logical time of elaboration, that mothers go through when facing the deafness of the child. © 2021, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved.