Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mothers In The Media: Blamed And Celebrated -- An Examination Of Drug Abuse And Multiple Births., Sonya Charles, Tricha Shivas

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

The media has always had a profound interest in mothers and birth stories. This study examined the difference between media portrayal of 'good' mothers and 'bad' mothers. Did the media cover potential harm to fetuses and would-be children in the same way for two groups of mothers: (a) pregnant women addicted to illicit drugs and (b) women who chose to continue a high-order, multiple birth pregnancy? Two searches were conducted on Lexis-Nexis, one with keywords 'McCaughey and birth' and another with the keywords 'pregnancy and illegal drugs.' A total of 210 articles were coded for the McCaughey search, and 90 …