BACKGROUND:
The birth of a child signals a new phase in the lives of parents, often prompting reflection on the bio-psycho-social-existential aspects of life. The transition to motherhood can be seen as a pivotal and yet paradoxical event reorganising values and what makes life worth living. Despite growing awareness of the importance of these dimensions, there remains limited synthesis of qualitative evidence exploring how women experience and make sense of existential changes during the transition to motherhood.

OBJECTIVES:
This qualitative systematic review aims to synthesise experiences of existential meaning-making related to the transition to motherhood.

METHODS:
The review will use the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for qualitative evidence synthesis and follow ENTREQ (Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research) reporting guidelines. Four databases (Embase (via OVID), MEDLINE (via OVID), PsycINFO (via OVID) and CINAHL (via EBSCO) will be searched. The Web of Science database will be used for forward and backwards citation searching of included studies to identify any additional studies. Grey literature will be systematically searched using ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Google Scholar. Framework synthesis will guide the prioritisation and categorisation of the outcomes, providing a structured approach to organising and interpreting the qualitative findings.

RESULTS:
Findings from this synthesis may contribute valuable insights for developing evidence-informed clinical guidelines that promote person-centred and holistic maternal care

CONCLUSIONS:
A frequently cited scoping review from 2014 exemplifies the growing scholarly and clinical interest in this area. However, as this scoping review did not meet current methodological standards for a review, a qualitative systematic review is warranted.

KEY MESSAGE:
The qualitative systematic review builds on a widely cited scoping review from 2014, which first established that existential aspects in motherhood transitions warranted further investigation. Poster session 4 (Group B)