In this article, we examine motherhood “scripts,” or cultural discourses, taught in prenatal classes in the US South. Our analysis revealed that these prenatal classes, all taught in the early 2000s, appear to have supported a model of “intensive mothering” that undermined women’s autonomy and power in pregnancy. In addition, the content and messaging of these classes appears to have contributed to a societal tendency to make pregnant women, especially poor women and women of color, invisible while privileging the fetus as a person rater than as a potential person.
Pregnancy without Women
Lessons from Childbirth Classes
Deeb-Sossa, N., & Kane, H. L. (2017). Pregnancy without Women: Lessons from Childbirth Classes. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, 14(4), 380-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0265-6
Abstract
Publications Info
To contact an RTI author, request a report, or for additional information about publications by our experts, send us your request.
Meet the Experts
View All ExpertsRecent Publications
Article
Protection of forest ecosystems in the eastern United States from elevated atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen
Article
The use of patient experience feedback in rehabilitation quality improvement and codesign activities
Article
SPTSSA variants alter sphingolipid synthesis and cause a complex hereditary spastic paraplegia
OCCASIONAL PAPER