Becoming the 'Natural' Mother in Britain and North America
Power, Emotions and the Labour of Childbirth Between 1947 and 1967
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4163116 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joanna Bourke (0000-0002-7603-4421, Birkbeck, University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 246 |
| Issue | Supplement_15 |
| Pages | 92-114 |
| Publication date | 2020-12-05 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Past & Present (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-2746 • E-ISSN: 1477-464X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pastj/gtaa031 |
| OpenAlex | W3125562904 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 4 |
A doctor appeared for only a few seconds, leaving her with the nurse who told her that 'I wouldn't have this natural childbirth stuff [if they gave it to me] on a silver platter'. 1 This wasn't the natural event that Mrs A. had been anticipating. The start of her mothering life was supposed to be intuitive and empowering. Stories like hers became part of a concerted campaign for a different way of bringing forth children -a natural way. But what was meant by 'natural'? Mrs A's description of her ordeal can't be read as an unmediated account of her experience, although there is no reason to doubt that Mrs A. existed and that she did send this letter to the natural childbirth obstetrician Frederick Goodrich. He then published Mrs A.'s letter in order to propagate a particular definition of the natural and one that came to dominate medical practice in the long 1950s.
Archaeology · Biology · Childbirth · Natural (archaeology) · Natural childbirth · Power (physics) · Pregnancy · Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History
| Citations per year | 2.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |