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Motherhood

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Has been used to exclude women from public life (liberal feminist) ... Bush Administration ... Postpartum psychosis - affects only 1/10 of 1% - rejection of baby ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Motherhood


1
Motherhood
  • Social institution (like marriage) - encompassing
    customs, beliefs, attitudes, rules, laws
  • Also has powerful symbolic component
  • Individuality can disappear
  • Has been used to exclude women from public life
    (liberal feminist)
  • Motherhood as woman-centered model of how people
    can be caring, connected

2
Myths of Motherhood Mystique
  • It is womens ultimate fulfillment,. thus
    necessary experience, those who dont are
    deprived, deficient
  • Women are instinctively good at caregiving,
    should be responsible for family, home enjoy it
  • Mothers have infinite patience, are to sacrifice,
    put own needs last
  • Full-time mothering is best for kids

3
More on Motherhood Mystique
  • Permeates experts advice on childrearing
  • Form of benevolent sexism because justifies
    different roles, elevates men over women
    benefits them
  • Economic dependence on men results
  • Used to justify womens lower status pay
  • Motherhood defined in ways that makes many women
    feel guilty, burdened

4
Decisions about Having Children
  • In preindustrialized times, children were needed
    workers
  • Industrialization lowered mortality rate, fewer
    children as they become economic liability
  • Maternal instinct doesnt seem to exist, is
    learned
  • Single fathers develop maternal skills so that
    nurturing looks like result of role rather than
    instinct
  • Working class women do it to achieve maturity,
    middle class women after maturity

5
Other Reasons to Mother
  • To experience pregnancy, birth
  • Participate in growth of another person
  • Pleasing partner
  • Strengthen relationship
  • Prove oneself as adult
  • Gain love, being needed
  • Pass on family name or genes

6
Motherhood Mandate
  • Surveys in 50s thru 70s indicated strong norm
    against childlessness, 1-child families
  • Choosing to be childfree often viewed as
    maladjustment (failed, self-centered, unhappy,
    unlikable, socially inadequate)
  • In 90s survey, students judged childless women
    as less fulfilled, less acceptable role models,
    more often unhappy
  • During feminist backlash of 80s motherhood
    reemphasized

7
Reasons for Childfreeness
  • Financial issues
  • Desire to pursue career, education
  • Dangers of childbirth
  • Possibility of having defective child
  • Overpopulation concerns
  • Belief that not suited

8
Childlessness
  • Surveying childless over 55, 72 attributed to
    circumstances
  • Later marriage
  • Caring for parents
  • Infertililty

9
Infertility
  • Major study of midlife women found no differences
    in well-being related to motherhood
  • One woman in 6
  • In study of women whod given up after up to 15
    yrs. of tx, found emotional repercussions
  • Profound grief, loss, emptiness
  • Feel exhausted, worn out
  • Relief at being done w/ medical machinery

10
Reproductive Freedom
  • Most feminists advocate because affects all
    aspects of life
  • Key is that all choices should be made by the
    woman herself
  • Components
  • Unbiased, comprehensive sex ed
  • Safe, reliable, affordable contraception
  • End to forced sterilization, forced birth control
    (for poor, minority women)
  • Safe, legal abortion (pro-choice)

11
Contraception
  • Accidental pregnancies results of method failure,
    lack of access, knowledge, unplanned or coerced
    sex, failure to use
  • Women expected to take responsibility but may not
    due to
  • Guilt
  • Lack of power within relationships
  • Sexual scripts
  • Problems compounded for poor, Third World women
  • Inadequate info for non-English speaking, young
    women starting to be sexually active

12
Abortion
  • 40 of pregnancies unplanned
  • 1.3 million U.S. abortions/yr., 30 of
    pregnancies, 46 million worldwide, 20 million
    illegally
  • Most common for young, poor, unmarried, women of
    color (38 of blacks, 22 of Hispanics, 16 of
    whites) which may relate to contraception
    availability
  • Roe v. Wade legalized in 73, relates choice to
    constitutional right to privacy
  • Many limitations restrictions (e.g., Hyde
    Amendment - prohibits Medicaid funds), parental
    notification, consent

13
More on Abortion
  • RU-486 legalized in 2000
  • Plan B (morning after) not yet legal
  • Harassment, violence at abortion clinics another
    deterrent
  • No. of docs performing down (18) due to
    stalking, threats, murders

14
Bush Administration
  • On first day in office, banned aid to global
    organizations that use own funds to provide
    abortions or abortion counseling to poor women in
    developing countries
  • 2002 - he eliminated U.S. contributions to UN
    family planning programs which also provide
    contraceptive education, HIV/AIDS prevention,
    general health ed to women children in over 140
    countries
  • Monitoring of womens behavior during pregnancy
    increasing, falls more on poor

15
Childbirth
  • Socially constructed, few accounts from women,
    invisible in Western art
  • Medicalization
  • Women passive, dr. hero, has power
  • Choices for ease convenience of docs, e.g.,
    anesthesia (prolongs labor by inhibiting
    contractions), position, C-sections, shaving,
    hospitals, isolation

16
Transition to Motherhood
  • Becomes most important, defining role
  • Stress of shifting to unpaid, at-home work, w/
    11-17 1/2 hr. day
  • Discrepancy between expectations of partners
    involvement their actual behavior, most dont
    do their share, most do 0-2 hrs./day of primary
    care
  • Superwoman, Madonna images conflict w/ reality,
    w/ resulting negative ambivalent feelings,
    feeling like failure, decreased well-being,
    isolation

17
Postpartum Phenomena
  • After birth of child is most likely time for
    psychiatric hospitalization
  • Postpartum blues - 50-80 have mood swings for
    1-2 days within 3-5 days after giving birth,
    hormonally based
  • Postpartum depression - 13 have sig. depression
    w/ fatigue, tearfulness, insomnia, feeling
    inadequate
  • Postpartum psychosis - affects only 1/10 of 1 -
    rejection of baby

18
Contributors to Postpartum Depression
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Lack of social support
  • Absence of plans to return to work
  • Conflicts between expectations of motherhood
    reality, need to reject impossible ideals
  • Strongest predictor is previous depressive episode
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