Divorced mothers' lived experience of child custody with an emphasis on the challenge of remarriage

Today, with the occurrence of divorce, an important issue that women face after separation is the custody of their children. In fact, according to the existing laws (Article 1170 of the Civil Code), if a woman who is divorced and has children from her first husband remarries, she will be deprived of custody of her children; Therefore, understanding the experience of women in two positions of motherhood and wife, what decisions they make and what challenges they face, are the goals of this study. Therefore, with the help of the qualitative method of thematic analysis, an interview was conducted with 20 divorced women of Tehran who took custody of the child, who were selected purposefully. The findings about the experiences of the divorced mothers participating in the research can be analyzed in the form of three types of child custody encounters, which in turn are associated with experiences and consequences: the first type, child custody with an emphasis on the role of the mother with consequences such as Expressing regret for accepting custody, reconsidering child custody and diminishing the role of femininity; The second type: acceptance of custody along with the social role with consequences such as fear of being divorced, exhausting arguments in a male environment and the challenge of emotional and biological needs; The third sign: accepting custody and maintaining the role of wife with the result of feeling satisfied with the role of mother and wife.