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 133
... nana visits the woman in her home from about the fourth month of pregnancy . There is a good deal of talking about local matters and about how the pregnant woman is feeling , and the nana does an abdominal examination , following this ...
... nana visits the woman in her home from about the fourth month of pregnancy . There is a good deal of talking about local matters and about how the pregnant woman is feeling , and the nana does an abdominal examination , following this ...
Page 134
... nana puts the pot on to make more bush tea . If contractions are not good this may be spice tea , made up of a ... nana uses wild castor oil , which is a good deal weaker than the commercial variety . The nana massages the woman's ...
... nana puts the pot on to make more bush tea . If contractions are not good this may be spice tea , made up of a ... nana uses wild castor oil , which is a good deal weaker than the commercial variety . The nana massages the woman's ...
Page 135
... nana asks him to get up on the bed behind the mother to support her back . " You push gentle , " said one nana , " and you give a little rest and you push again . Pushing hard brings in weakness . Let it open gradually . " The mother ...
... nana asks him to get up on the bed behind the mother to support her back . " You push gentle , " said one nana , " and you give a little rest and you push again . Pushing hard brings in weakness . Let it open gradually . " The mother ...
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