Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

The Zero Trimester: Pre-Pregnancy Care And The Politics Of Reproductive Risk, Medora W. Barnes

2018 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Anticipatory Socialization Of Pregnant Women: Learning Fetal Sex And Gendered Interactions, Medora W. Barnes

Sociology

Although doctors still frequently call out “It’s a girl!” when a baby girl is born, the majority of mothers now use ultrasound to find out the sex months earlier. This study examines how women who learn the sex of their fetus before birth are engaging in gendered verbal interactions throughout pregnancy. These include types of conversations, usage of gendered pronouns, and calling the unborn baby by a given name. These changes in behaviors by pregnant woman once fetal sex is known can be seen as a form of anticipatory socialization, as they begin to practice the behaviors and values associated …

Gender Differentiation In Paid And Unpaid Work During The Transition To Parenthood, Medora W. Barnes

Sociology

The transition to parenthood may be especially difficult because relationships need to be largely reorganized to meet demanding new challenges. For scholars interested in gender inequality, the transition to parenthood is a critical time in which gender differentiation is generated by both economic and cultural forces. Although newly married childless couples tend to share both paid and unpaid labor rather equally, when men and women become parents, their patterns become increasingly differentiated by gender. Cultural beliefs that emphasize mothers as the primary parent and fathers as secondary reinforce unequal patterns in housework and childcare. Time availability models, bargaining perspectives, and …

Fetal Sex Determination And Gendered Prenatal Consumption, Medora W. Barnes

Sociology

Although expectant mothers have long purchased items in preparation for their baby’s birth, the timing and type of purchases being made have changed in response to pregnant women routinely learning the sex of their fetus through ultrasound. This article examines changes in these consumption patterns through data drawn from personal narratives with 25 women divided between two cohorts—those who gave birth in the 2000s and those who gave birth in the1970s. The routine use of ultrasound has encouraged changes in beliefs about the relationship between a fetus and its mother in younger women, which in turn inspires earlier purchases of …

Having A First Versus A Second Child: Comparing Women's Maternity Leave Choices And Concerns, Medora W. Barnes

Sociology

There are good reasons to suspect that the transition parents go through

when having their second child may be different from when having their first,

yet these differences remain understudied. This study focuses on one specific

area of possible divergence by looking at how first-time versus secondtime

mothers decide on maternity leave length. To address this question, a

series of in-depth semistructured longitudinal interviews were conducted

at three different times over the course of 1 year with 16 pregnant public

school teachers; 8 of whom were having their first child and 8 their second

child. Findings indicate that some areas …