Ourselves As Mothers: The Universal Experience Of MotherhoodSheila Kitzinger writes with understanding of the problems facing mothers in the West today, about the pain of infertility, the struggles of working mothers, the myth of the "new man", the underrating of housework, and the ways in which women try to juggle their identities as both mothers and achievers in today's world. Citing examples from India to Jamaica, South Africa to Communist China, she reveals what motherhood means in our own and different cultures. From preparing for pregnancy to the ritualization of hospital birth, from the bonds forged between mother and child to the changes in behavior expected of women when they become mothers, Kitzinger's unique anthropological exploration enables us to reflect upon and reexamine our own rituals. Ourselves as Mothers is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging study of its kind, and an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of women and society. It is a celebration of the diversity, the ingenuity, the energy, and the courage of the great sisterhood of mothers. |
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Page 80
... ceremony of the obi - iwai , when the pregnant woman wraps around her the hara - obi , a long cotton sash that has been bought at a shrine . This act is performed on a special day , a dog day , since the dog is the symbol of an easy ...
... ceremony of the obi - iwai , when the pregnant woman wraps around her the hara - obi , a long cotton sash that has been bought at a shrine . This act is performed on a special day , a dog day , since the dog is the symbol of an easy ...
Page 152
... ceremony of wiring up a woman in labor gives her the message that her body is not to be trusted and that it is in constant danger of malfunction . Electronic fetal monitoring ( EFM ) also serves to convey the mes- sage that ...
... ceremony of wiring up a woman in labor gives her the message that her body is not to be trusted and that it is in constant danger of malfunction . Electronic fetal monitoring ( EFM ) also serves to convey the mes- sage that ...
Page 178
... ceremony of " churching , " in which her uncleanliness was removed from her . She was not allowed to enter a church until thirty - three days after the birth of a boy and sixty - six days after the birth of a girl . Babies were baptized ...
... ceremony of " churching , " in which her uncleanliness was removed from her . She was not allowed to enter a church until thirty - three days after the birth of a boy and sixty - six days after the birth of a girl . Babies were baptized ...
Contents
Mothers Cut to Shape | 17 |
The Empty Womb | 33 |
Experimenting with Motherhood | 63 |
Copyright | |
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abdomen adult African baby's become behavior blood body born breast-feeding ceremonies cervix cesarean section Chaim Bermant chil child child-rearing childbearing childbirth clinic couple delivered delivery doctor dren drugs emotional epidural episiotomy experience father feeding feel female fertility fetus girl give birth hands hospital household human husband important Jamaican Jewish John Bowlby kibbutz laboring woman live London look male marriage massage maternal menstruating midwifery midwives modern months mother and baby motherhood nana National Childbirth Trust never normal obstetric obstetrician oxytocin pain parents partner patient percent perineum Pethidine placenta preg pregnancy pregnant woman prenatal relationship responsibility risk ritual role sexual Sheila Kitzinger social sometimes technological things tion touch traditional cultures traditional societies treated Truby King United usually uterus vagina vitro fertilization weeks West Western wife women