•Mumsnet Talk pages contained discourses of maternal regret from 2008 on.•Digital media allow women to break the taboo of regretting motherhood.•Expressions of regret as instances of after-the-fact ...agency.•Mothers mourn their previous child-free lives.•Responses to posts portray maternal regret as temporary or deficient.
One of the main criteria of being a “good mother” is evaluating motherhood as worthwhile and fulfilling. Yet in recent years there has been increased debate regarding women who regret having had children and who question the utilitarian rhetoric of childbirth and parenting. However, there is as yet little research into such counter-discourses of maternity and femininity in online environments. This study addresses this research gap by examining expressions of maternal regret in the Talk fora of Mumsnet, a UK-based parenting website. Focusing on stance-taking, it examines how women attempt to deal with regret and to create a sense of self between the binaries of good/bad mother discourses. The study contributes to an appreciation of the diversity of experiences of motherhood and the emotions and cognition that accompany them – ranging from mourning for one’s previous life through guilt to acceptance – and highlights how digitally mediated communication functions as an arena in which women can break the taboo of maternal regret.
A survey was conducted with nine Brazilian cisgender, non-heterosexual women who are mothers, with the aim of understanding the challenges faced by double-motherhood in Brazil. Nine interviews and ...one focus group were conducted online and asynchronously through WhatsApp. The data was transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. The findings revealed four categories: IC as a form of resistance; violence and LGBTphobia against queer motherhood; the invisibility of queer motherhood in relation to the state; and queer subjectivity. This research concludes that double-motherhood can be seen as a form of resistance, as the mothers use technologies, such as home insemination.
Many women in countries in the global North access digital media information sources during pregnancy and the early years of motherhood. These include websites, blogs, online discussion forums, apps ...and social media platforms. Little previous research has sought to investigate in detail how women use the diverse range of digital media now available to them and what types of information they value. A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted to address these issues.
Four focus groups were held in Sydney, Australia, including a total of 36 women who were either pregnant or had given birth in the previous three years. The participants were asked to talk about the types of digital media they used for pregnancy and parenting purposes, why they used them and in what ways they found them useful or helpful (or not). Group discussions were transcribed and thematically analysed, identifying the dominant information characteristics identified by women as valuable and useful.
Nine characteristics emerged from the focus group discussions as most important to women: information that was: 1) immediate; 2) regular; 3) detailed; 4) entertaining; 5) customised; 6) practical; 7) professional; 8) reassuring; and 9) unbiased. These characteristics were valued for different purposes and needs. Digital media provided women with details when they most needed them or at times when they had opportunities to access them. The study showed that women value apps or digital platforms that are multi-functional. The findings revealed the importance of using digital information for establishing and maintaining social connections and intimate relationships with other mothers. However, participants also highly valued expert advice and expressed the desire for greater and more ready access to information and support offered by healthcare professionals.
Pregnant women and those with young children place a high value on the information and support they receive from and sharing using online sources and apps. They are accustomed to ready and immediate access to information using digital technologies and want better access to that offered by professionals. Recognising and finding ways to meet these needs should be included in planning healthcare provision and support for this group. Further research with women from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and non-urban locations is required to identify whether they have different information needs and values from the women who were included in the study reported here.
Introduction
Multiple authors have criticized the lack of attention that classical theoretical models have paid to motherhood as a milestone of great influence on the psychic structure of women. ...However other models have developed theories that take into account factors such as: motherhood implies “dying as a daughter” or the oscillations between the “desire of the mother” and the “desire of the woman”.
Objectives
This case report aims to describe a case of severe difficulties achieving maternal function.
Methods
Case report and literature review.
Results
A 27 years old woman, born in Ethiopia. The patient reported history of childhood trauma (intrafamiliar sexual abuse, child neglect). Depressed mood and pasive autolytic ideation since childhood. The patient was adopted when she was 11 years old and moved to Spain. The pacient had difficulties with bonding with her adoptive family. At the age of 24, she got pregnant “to have my own family and not being alone.” During pregnancy, she begins to present poorly structured paranoid ideation. After birth, the patient began to present autolytic ideation, dissociative symptoms and suicide attempts.
Conclusions
For the patient, her desire to be a mother, marked from the beginning by the phantom of appropriation, later led to rejecting it. Various factors could affect: her motherhood resignified the relationship with her family of origin, as well as having imagined that her daughter would complete her lack: the birth could have underlined her traumatic history, marking the bond with her daughter by indifference and the lack of libidinal investiture.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Adolescent pregnancy remains a major challenge in both developed and developing countries. Early and unintended pregnancies among adolescents are associated with several adverse health, educational, ...social and economic outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify the contextual factors that influence adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood in five East African countries.
We use DHS data from five East African countries to examine trends and risk factors associated with adolescent pregnancy. DHS surveys collect detailed information on individual and household characteristics, sexual behavior, contraception, and related reproductive behaviors. Our analysis focuses on a weighted subsample of adolescent's age 15-19 years (Kenya, 5820; Tanzania, 2904; Uganda, 4263; Malawi, 5263; Zambia, 3675). Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to identify the net effects of individual, household and community level contextual variables on adolescent pregnancy after adjusting for potential confounders.
Adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood is common in the five countries, ranging from 18% among adolescents in Kenya (2014) to 29% in Malawi (2016) and Zambia (2014). Although all five countries experienced a decline in adolescent pregnancy since 1990, the declines have been largely inconsistent. More than half of the adolescent's most recent pregnancies and or births in these countries were unintended. The regression analysis found that educational attainment, age at first sex, household wealth, family structure and exposure to media were significantly associated with adolescent pregnancy in at least one of the five countries after adjusting for socio-demographic factors.
The study highlights the importance of considering multi-sectoral approaches to addressing adolescent pregnancy. Broader development programs that have positive impacts on girls educational and employment opportunities may potentially influence their agency and decision-making around if and when to have children. Likewise, policies and programs that promote access to and uptake of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services are required to reduce barriers to the use of adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services.
This paper illustrates economic challenges on motherhood, womanhood, children, and the issue of GBV. It has become evident in numerous families that societal role of mothers has shifted immensely. As ...a result, many scholars decided to study the various components of motherhood. Hence, the objective of this paper is to comprehend motherhood in society and its acceptance in the domestic domain. Becoming a mother was not the mother’s decision, it was a response to sociocultural pressure that held women accountable pertaining to children. Women had distinct motherhood experiences, but it is kept secret from the family and society. The issue of GBV cause mothers to face immense pressure in a morally acceptable motherhood society. Therefore, mothers have a very negative perception of motherhood, particularly in a highly demanding patriarchal society.
As almost all aspects of our lives, motherhood in the 21st century also is influenced and transformed by new media. Parents, especially mothers, use the Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter (X) as ...digital diaries, as stages for performing an ideal mother’s role, or even “safe spaces” to gain support and the feeling of empowerment. Recent research of motherhood discourses and mothering practices in social media has mainly focused on the evidence of mediation and mediatization. However, limited attention has been brought to examining Twitter in context of mothering. Therefore, this paper focuses on the narratives of a particular cluster of Latvian-speaking mothers on Twitter who use Twitter as a platform for exchanging informational, emotional and physical support, forming a “portable” community. The case study consists of a narrative analysis of 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with mothers and a thematic analysis of 1111 tweets, gathered from 9 other public Twitter accounts (covering a period of 2 weeks), that have been identified by interviewees as part of this particular Twitter-bubble. The paper provides an insight into the narratives of women, voicing their motherhood struggles and victories in the “safe space” of Twitter’s “bubble” of new Latvian mothers, illuminating also a unique and unlikely use for an asymmetric and decentralized social media platform.
Il presente contributo è il risultato di una ricerca etnografica incentrata sull’analisi dell’allattamento materno, da intendere come pratica del corpo attorno alla quale si condensano particolari ...significati sociali e culturali; infatti, lungi dal poter essere identificato solo con la sua funzione biologica e nutrizionale, l’allattamento risulta fortemente legato a norme, valori e relazioni che molto ci dicono sul rapporto tra i generi e in particolare sull’esperienza della maternità, sul ruolo della donna, sulle percezioni e sulle pratiche che interessano il corpo femminile. Il latte materno, allo stesso modo, veicola significati, appartenenze, alleanze e simboli, ben al di là della sua funzione di alimento che nutre e fortifica, divenendo anche “luogo” in cui si scorgono credenze e saperi che ne guidano l’utilizzo e la circolazione. L’esplorazione etnografica attraverso la quale vengono affrontate queste tematiche, parte dai quartieri popolari e marginali di Palermo e si spinge sino a Novara, nell’intento di instaurare una comparazione attraverso la quale sia possibile comprendere gli elementi che influenzano, favoriscono o scoraggiano la pratica di allattare al seno, in relazione ai dettami della comunità scientifica sanitaria che, oggi più che mai, insiste sulla sua centralità nella salute materno-infantile, dando alle madri indicazioni specifiche, e a volte additando come scorrette, imprudenti o irresponsabili coloro che non le seguono. Le testimonianze delle interlocutrici della ricerca dimostrano, invece, che ciò che davvero influenza le scelte, al di là dei buoni intenti, è il contesto sociale, la condizione economica e lavorativa, l’accesso alle risorse e ai servizi, i rapporti tra i generi e il background educativo e culturale: tutti elementi che determinano forme di accudimento che necessitano costantemente supporto e attenzione in molteplici forme: una «catena calda» di relazioni, condivisione e sostegno. L’indagine etnografica dialoga con la letteratura di riferimento attraverso un approccio fortemente transdisciplinare, dove la prospettiva antropologica risulta nutrita di studi di genere, sociologia, psicologia, storia sociale e pedagogia critica.
This contribution is the result of ethnographic research focused on the analysis of breastfeeding, to be understood as a practice of the body around which particular social and cultural meanings are condensed. In fact, far from being identifiable only with its biological and nutritional function, breastfeeding is strongly linked to norms, values and relationships that tell us a lot about the relationship between genders, in particular about the experience of motherhood, the role of women, perceptions and practices that affect the female body. Breast milk, in the same way, conveys meanings, belongings, alliances and symbols, well beyond its function as a food that nourishes and fortifies, also becoming a “place” in which beliefs and knowledge are discerned that guide its use and circulation. The ethnographic exploration through which these issues are addressed starts from the marginal neighbourhoods of Palermo and goes as far as Novara, with the intention of establishing a comparison through which it is possible to understand the elements that influence, favour or discourage the practice of breast-feeding, in relation to the dictates of the scientific health community which, today more than ever, insists on its centrality in maternal and child health, giving mothers specific indications, and sometimes pointing out those who do not follow them as incorrect, imprudent or irresponsible. The testimonies of the research participants show, on the other hand, that what really influences choices, beyond good intentions, is the social context, economic and working conditions, access to resources and services, gender relations, and educational and cultural background: all elements that determine forms of care that constantly need support and attention in multiple forms: a “warm chain” of relations, sharing and support. The ethnographic investigation dialogues with the reference literature through a strongly transdisciplinary approach, where the anthropological perspective is nourished by gender studies, sociology, psychology, social history and critical pedagogy.
Neste artigo, objetivou-se analisar como se dão a permanência e o progresso de universitárias grávidas ou com filhos(as) menores de idade na Graduação. Participaram desta pesquisa, 131 mulheres, das ...quais 90,1% já possuíam filhos(as), 50,4% não precisaram interromper a Graduação devido à gravidez, e 45% se autodeclararam pardas. As participantes responderam de forma online à Escala de Apoio Social, à Escala de Motivação Acadêmica, à Escala de Identidade Profissional de Macleod Clark e a um questionário demográfico. Os resultados foram analisados no software SPSS (versão 21) e indicaram correlações entre a motivação acadêmica, a identidade profissional e o apoio social. A desmotivação se correlacionou negativamente com a identidade profissional e o apoio social. Foram encontradas diferenças de média para o apoio social e fatores da motivação em função do suporte familiar e paterno e de responsabilidade doméstica. Concluiu-se que esses construtos são importantes na construção de uma carreira satisfatória para essas estudantes.
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