Ourselves As Mothers:

Sheila 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.