Contributor: Jacqueline Fawcett
December 5, 2023
View FITNE video of Reva Rubin Interviewed by Jacqueline Fawcett
Author – Reva Rubin
Years First Published – Theory of Clinical Nursing – 1968. Theory of Maternal Identity – 1984
Major Concepts of the Theory of Clinical Nursing
- Nursing care
- Patient
- Situation
Major Concepts of the Theory of Maternal Identity
- Self – Ideal self, Self-image, Body image
- Feminine Identity—Feminine identify from preschool ages through adolescence
- Maternal identity—Replication, Fantasy
- Maternal tasks—Safe passage, Acceptance by others, Binding-in to the child
- Body Image in Childbearing—Growth in size, Body boundaries, Postural model
- Time and space in childbearing—Time and space in each trimester, in labor and delivery and the puerperium
- The fourth trimester—Maternal-Child subsystem, Self system
- Body image and the image of the child in the puerperium—Sleep patterns, Developing image of the child, Mother’s body image postpartally, Separation of self from baby,
- Identification of the child—Prenatal identification, identification at birth, identification and action-interaction, identification and the changing infant
Typology
Situation-specific theory about development of maternal identity
Description of the Theories
Rubin explained that there is an infinite relation between nursing care and the patient-situation ratio. The Theory of Clinical Nursing can be used as a guide for research. Thus, Rubin’s Theory of Maternal Identity was developed using the research method for the Theory of Clinical Nursing, which is nurses’ observations of patients within the context of their situation.
Rubin (1968) maintained that “The proper study of nursing is not the nurse but the patient. Patients are persons undergoing subjectively involved experiences of varying degrees. The special expertise of nursing is seen in the helping techniques whereby the patient adjusts to, endures through and usefully integrates the health problem situation in it many ramifications” (p 210).
Rubin’s Theory of Maternal Identity was developed through the rigorous naturalistic methodology Rubin developed, which involved observations and recordings done by graduate nurses of women during the childbearing period (antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum) and coded by Rubin (Rubin, 1984). Rubin’s “published work of the 1960s broadened maternity nursing in theory and practice; whereas maternity nursing had focused previously on biology and physiology. [Her] work brought the mental work of the mother into the conversation. In particular, Rubin differentiated maternal nursing from obstetric nursing. She argued that obstetric nurses’ role only included helping the physician in the delivery of the child, whereas maternal nurses assisted the new mother in transitioning into her role as a mother” (Reva Rubin, 2023).
Primary Sources
Rubin, R. (1968). A theory of clinical nursing. Nursing Research, 17(3) ,210-212 https://journals.lww.com/nursingresearchonline/citation/1968/05000/a_theory_of_clinical_nursing.7.aspx
Rubin, R. (1984). Maternal identity and the maternal experience. Springer.
Reva Rubin. (2023, May 1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reva_Rubin. Accessed December 4, 2023.
Additional Resources
Mercer, R. T. (1995). A tribute to Reva Rubin. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 20(4), 184. doi:10.1097/00005721-199507000-00002.
Rubin, R. (1984). Maternal identity and the maternal experience. Springer.
Templeton Gay, J., Estes Edgil, A., & Bragg Douglas, A. (1988). Reva Rubin revisited”. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 17(6), 394–399. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.1988.tb00464
Author
Reva Rubin (April 8, 1919 – May 13, 1995)
Education: Bachelor’s degree, 1941, Hunter College; Masters in Nursing, 1946, Yale University; Masters in Mental Health, 1954, Yale University
Rubin “was one of the first specialists in maternity nursing.] Her work helped to broaden maternal nursing to include caring for the mother’s mental wellbeing before and after childbirth.” Rubin held faculty positions at Yale University, University of Chicago, and University of Pittsburgh. She developed the Theory of Maternal Identity during her time at the University of Pittsburgh from 1960-198. In 1972, Rubin co-founded Maternal and Child Care Journal with Florence H. Erickson. With Erickson, she established master’s and doctoral degree programs at the University of Pittsburgh
Information retrieved from: Reva Rubin. (2023, May 1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reva_Rubin. Accessed December 4, 2023.
See also: MERCER, RAMONA T.. A Tribute to Reva Rubin. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing 20(4):p 184, July 1995.