What to Expect When You Read Pregnancy Guides

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Biomedical Sciences, Women and Gender Studies

Mentor Information

Julia Mason, Kathleen Underwood

Department

Women and Gender Studies

Location

Kirkhof Center KC31

Start Date

10-4-2013 1:00 PM

End Date

10-4-2013 2:00 PM

Keywords

Gender, Health, Human Rights, Media

Abstract

Of the dozens of pregnancy guides conveniently available to women, the most popular over the last quarter century is the "What To Expect When You're Expecting" series, which at 597 pages, discusses such topics as pre-conception, the nine months of pregnancy, and finally labor and delivery. Because millions of women use such guides as their primary source, understanding and analyzing the messages received by women is important. This study focuses on the four editions (1984, 1991, 2002, and 2012) of the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" series. These books will be examined with qualitative content analysis to discover possible messages women receive regarding pregnancy choices including the differences of natural compared to medicalized childbirth. Also, by examining each edition, I can analyze how messages change over time. I argue the subject matter in the books focus primarily on medicalized childbirth and how this type is ideal compared to a natural birth.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 10th, 1:00 PM Apr 10th, 2:00 PM

What to Expect When You Read Pregnancy Guides

Kirkhof Center KC31

Of the dozens of pregnancy guides conveniently available to women, the most popular over the last quarter century is the "What To Expect When You're Expecting" series, which at 597 pages, discusses such topics as pre-conception, the nine months of pregnancy, and finally labor and delivery. Because millions of women use such guides as their primary source, understanding and analyzing the messages received by women is important. This study focuses on the four editions (1984, 1991, 2002, and 2012) of the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" series. These books will be examined with qualitative content analysis to discover possible messages women receive regarding pregnancy choices including the differences of natural compared to medicalized childbirth. Also, by examining each edition, I can analyze how messages change over time. I argue the subject matter in the books focus primarily on medicalized childbirth and how this type is ideal compared to a natural birth.