Description
Book SynopsisThe topic of motherhood holds an enduring fascination as well as acting as an indicator to societal change. This book offers a rich comparative study across two generations of how women's experiences as first-time mothers unfold in real lives.
Trade Review''I had hoped for more.' So ends Tina Miller's provocative, historically comparative look at women's experience of becoming a mother for the first time. Repeating an agenda-setting study she first undertook in the UK 21 years ago, Miller shows that, in many ways, it has never been a more challenging time to be a (working) mother. In this beautifully written, narrative-rich account, she shows how the 'intensified, individualised and undervalued' circumstances of motherhood are now deeply intertwined with pernicious (and illusive) ideas around 'balance' in the contemporary age. From one of the most authoritative scholars in the field, this book is a delightful - if troubling - read.' Charlotte Faircloth, UCL Social Research Institute, and author of Couples' Transitions to Parenthood
'Tina Miller's qualitative research provides an illuminating insight into women's often ambivalent transition to motherhood and how this experience has changed - for better and, worryingly, for worse - since she conducted her original study over 20 years ago. As Miller writes, 'so much about mothering has become further intensified, responsibility-laden and of course, individualised: locking women in and keeping men out'.' Eliane Glaser, Author of Motherhood: Feminism's Unfinished Business
'In spite of the fact that gender relations and norms have undergone radical changes over the past decades, ideas relating to motherhood remain surprisingly essentialist and, in many respects, out of sync with expectant and new mothers' everyday experiences. Tina Miller's timely and illuminating book shows how deeply ingrained gender essentialism is in society, and how profoundly this shapes transitions to motherhood.' Daniela Grunow, Goethe University Frankfurt
Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Becoming a mother: generational shifts and narrative research; 2. Anticipating motherhood: the antenatal period; 3. Making sense of early mothering experiences; 4. A return to normal: becoming the 'expert'?; 5. Mothering experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic; 6. Conclusions and reflections; Appendices.
