Bakgrund: Mäns våld mot kvinnor är en ständigt aktuell fråga. Våldet består av flera former såsom fysiskt, psykiskt, ekonomiskt, materiellt, sexuellt, digitalt och hedersrelaterat våld. Barnmorskan har ett ansvar i att ställa frågor om våld till gravida kvinnor för att identifiera de som lever under våldsutsatthet och kunna erbjuda stöd och förebygga fortsatt våldsutsatthet. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva barnmorskors upplevelse av att ställa frågan om våldsutsatthet till gravida kvinnor på mödrahälsovården.  Metod: En kvalitativ design med enskilda intervjuer har genomförts med totalt tio barnmorskor från sex olika mödrahälsovårdscentraler i sydöstra Sverige. Analysen genomfördes via en induktiv tematisk innehållsanalys. Resultat: De främsta resultaten i studien presenteras i fyra tematiska kategorier; professionellt och etiskt förhållningssätt, barnmorskans behov av att definiera våld, barnmorskans upplevelse av barriärer och barnmorskans upplevelse av brister i vårdkedjan. Barnmorskorna beskrev att rutinen kring att ställa frågan om våld till gravida kvinnor på mödrahälsovården var angelägen och självklar, där rädsla för att möta ett medgivande på frågan inte hindrade barnmorskorna från att ställa den. Slutsats: Ett av studiens fynd är att gravida kvinnor med hög socioekonomisk status ansågs utgöra en barriär för att ställa frågor om våldsutsatthet. För att överkomma de barriärer som finns för att ställa frågan om våld är det viktigt att ständigt arbeta med de frågor som utgör en barriär för barnmorskorna. / Background: Men's violence against women is an ever-present issue. Violence consists in many forms, such as physical, psychological, economic, material, sexual, digital, and honor-related violence. The midwife has a responsibility to ask questions about violence to pregnant women to identify those who are exposed to domestic violence. Aim: This study aimed to describe midwives' experience of asking the question of exposure to violence to pregnant women in maternity care. Method: A qualitative design with individual interviews has been conducted with ten midwives from six different maternity health centers in southeastern Sweden. The analysis was conducted through an inductive thematic content analysis. Results: The study´s main results are presented in four thematic categories; professional and ethical approach, the midwife's need to define violence, the midwife's experience of barriers and the midwife's experience of shortcomings in the care chain. The midwives described that the routine around asking the question of violence to pregnant women at the maternal health care was urgent and self-evident, where fear of obtaining consent to the question did not prevent the midwives from asking it. Conclusion: One of the study's finding is that pregnant women with high socioeconomicstatus were considered a barrier to asking the question. To overcome the obstacles that exist to asking the question of violence, it is important to constantly work on the issues that constitute a barrier for the midwives.

Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa av varierande allvarlighetsgrad under graviditet ökar. Psykisk ohälsa under graviditet medför bland annat ökad risk för nedsatt anknytning till barnet och tillväxthämningar hos barnet. Barnmorskor är den profession som ansvarar för graviditetskontroller och har därmed ett ansvar att upptäcka tecken på psykisk ohälsa under graviditet. Syfte: Att beskriva barnmorskors erfarenheter av att vårda gravida med psykisk ohälsa inom mödravården. Metod: Webbaserad enkätundersökning, analyserad med kvalitativt manifest innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Resultat: Förutsättningar och möjlighet att vårda innebar att barnmorskorna hade ett förtroendeingivande och professionellt förhållningssätt som en del av att ha en stödjande och professionell roll samt att ha tillgång till team och resurser för remittering och samarbete/samverkan vid behov. Resultatet visade även på utmaningar och hindra som tidsbrist, kunskapsbrist som skedde i att inte räcka till samt att sakna stöd och resurser där det förekom en brist påeller bristande resurser och samarbete/samverkan. Slutsats: Att barnmorskor har tillgång till tid, kunskap, teamarbete och samverkan är nödvändigt för att identifiera och bemöta behov av stöd och insatser vid psykisk ohälsa under graviditet. / Bakgrund: Psykiska problem av varierande svårighetsgrad under graviditeten ökar. Psykiska problem under graviditeten innebär bland annat en ökad risk för minskad anknytning till barnet och tillväxthämning hos barnet. Barnmorskor är de yrke som ansvarar för graviditetskontroller och har därmed ett ansvar att upptäcka tecken på psykiska problem under graviditeten. Syfte: Att beskriva barnmorskors erfarenheter av vård av gravida med psykiska problem inom mödravården. Metod: Webbaserat undersökning, analyserad med kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Förutsättningar och möjlighet till vård gjorde att barnmorskorna hade en förtroendefull och professionellt förhållningssätt som en del av att ha en stödjande och professionell roll samt att ha tillgång till team och resurser för remiss och samarbete/samverkan vid behov. De Resultatet visade också på utmaningar och hinder såsom brist på tid, brist på kunskap som resulterat i att det inte räckte till och att det saknades stöd och resurser där det saknades eller brist på resurser och samarbete/samverkan. Slutsats: Att barnmorskor har tillgång till tid, kunskap, lagarbete och samarbete är nödvändigt för att identifiera och svara på behov av stöd och insatser vid psykiska problem under graviditeten.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise analyse la parole des journalistes italiennes sur leurs conditions de vie dans la presse féminine durant la période fasciste de 1922 à 1937. Sur la base de trois publications, l’Almanacco della donna italiana, La Donna Italiana : rivista mensile di lettere, scienze, arti e movimento sociale femminile et Il Giornale della donna, qui deviendra, en 1935, La Donna Fascista, cette étude cherche à démontrer que la maternité, l’emploi et les loisirs sont tous des éléments présents dans les discours et qu’ils sont abordés ouvertement. Selon les événements qui ont jalonné le pays cette période, comme l’assassinat de Matteotti ou les changements dans les lois du travail, il est possible de remarquer une évolution de certains points de vue féminins. Les femmes utilisent alors plusieurs lieux communs de leur époque pour faire part de leurs idées. Les paramètres du régime, tels que la maternité imposée et le cadre idéologique fasciste, leur permettent de justifier les rôles et services auxquels elles prétendent. La division genrée de la société leur donne l’opportunité s’attribuer des tâches, entre autres dans les emplois. Enfin, les canons imposés par l’idéologie comme celui de la donna-madre justifie certaines actions physiques ou spirituelles telles que les loisirs. Ainsi, malgré la répression de la liberté d’expression sous le régime de Benito Mussolini, les femmes bénéficient d’une certaine latitude dans leurs propos, qui ont la particularité d’être écrits pour leurs semblables. S’inscrivant dans la branche de l’histoire du genre, ce mémoire témoigne de la parole des femmes dans un milieu totalitaire. Pour se faire, les publications sélectionnées ont été étudiées par une analyse statistique d’abord, pour relever les sujets et les auteurs communs, et une analyse comparative des numéros a ensuite permis de démontrer les similarités et différences du traitements entre les sujets. / This master’s thesis analyses Italian women discourses on their living conditions in the feminine press during the fascist era, from 1922 to 1937. On the basis of three publications, l’Almanacco della donna italiana, La Donna Italiana: rivista mensile di lettere, scienze, arti e movimento sociale femminile and Il Giornale della donna, which will become, in 1935, La Donna Fascista, this study tries to demonstrate that maternity, employment and leisure are all present in the discourses, and that they have been written about openly. It is possible to note an evolution of the feminine points of view with the different events happening at the time, like Matteotti’s assassination and the new work legislation. Journalists share their ideas with multiple techniques. They use the parameters of the fascist regime to justify the role and services to which they pretend, as well as the gendered society division to self-assign some tasks and the ideals carried by the ideology to justify points of view. Therefore, despite freedom of expression restrictions during Benito Mussolini’s regime, women do have some latitude in the discourses related to their living condition, which have the particularity of being written strictly for a female audience. This thesis demonstrates the particularities of women’s discourses in a totalitarian society. To do so, the publication selection has been studied by statistical analysis first to seek out common subjects and journalists, and then by comparative analysis to demonstrate similarities and differences in the topics’ treatment.

Current literature has indicated a concern about standards of maternity care experienced by pregnant asylum seeking women. As the next generation of midwives, it would appear essential that students are educated in a way that prepares them to effectively care for pregnant asylum seekers. Consequently, this study examined the way in which midwifery students constructed a pregnant asylum seeker's health and social needs, the discourses that influenced their constructions and the implications of these findings for midwifery education. For the duration of year two of a pre-registration midwifery programme, eleven midwifery students participated in the study. Two focus group interviews using a problem based learning (PBL) scenario were conducted. In addition, three students were individually interviewed and two students' written reflections on practice were used to construct data. Following a critical discourse analysis, dominant discourses were identified which appeared to influence the way that pregnant asylum seekers were perceived. The findings suggested an underpinning discourse around the asylum seeker as different and of a criminal persuasion. In addition, managerial and medico-scientific discourses were identified, which appeared to influence how midwifery students approach their care of women in general, at the expense of a woman centred, midwifery perspective. The findings from this study were used to develop 'the pregnant woman within the global context' model for midwifery education and it is recommended that this be used in midwifery education, to facilitate the holistic assessment of pregnant asylum seekers' and other newly arrived migrants' health and social needs. / Became: Haith-Cooper, Melanie. Please search under Haith-Cooper for later articles.

No description available.

Postpartum Depression (PPD) affects 8-15 percent of new mothers in Sweden every year. The majority of PPD cases go undetected, and only a few percent receive adequate care. New ways to detect and diagnose PPD are required. In my previous work, PPD experts expressed willingness to integrate social assistive robots (SARs) into their medical team. Moreover, we disclosed that future work was needed to include patients' perspectives on the subject. This thesis aims to provide insights from mothers with experience of mental health issues in relation to their pregnancy to elicit perceptions, attitudes and opinions towards SARs in PPD healthcare. Semi-structured interviews with participants (n=10) and a generative design activity were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results suggest split opinions towards SARs in PPD healthcare. Participants expressed healthcare needs, and how SARs could be used to address these issues. Opinions towards the robot's appearance, including characteristics, gender and ethnicity were also discussed. Future work including midwives, child health nurses' and perspectives is needed, as well as a larger sample of women to validate the robot’s appearance, gender and characteristics.

Yes / Current literature has indicated a concern about standards of maternity care experienced by pregnant women who are seeking asylum. As the next generation of midwives, it is important that students are educated in a way that prepares them to effectively care for these women. To understand how this can be achieved, it is important to explore what asylum seeking means to midwifery students. This article is the first of three parts and reports on one objective from a wider doctorate study. It identifies dominant discourses that influenced the perceptions of a group of midwifery students' about the pregnant asylum seeking woman. The study was designed from a social constructivist perspective, with contextual knowledge being constructed by groups of people, influenced by underpinning dominant discourses, depending on their social, cultural and historical positions in the world. In a United Kingdom University setting, during year two of a pre-registration midwifery programme, eleven midwifery students participated in the study. Two focus group interviews using a problem based learning scenario as a trigger for discussion were conducted. In addition, three students were individually interviewed to explore issues in more depth and two students' written reflections on practice were used to generate data. Following a critical discourse analysis, dominant discourses were identified which appeared to influence the way in which asylum seekers were perceived. The findings suggested an underpinning ideology around the asylum seeker being different and of a criminal persuasion. Although the pregnant woman seeking asylum was considered as deserving of care, the same discourses appeared to influence the way in which she was constructed. However, as the study progressed, through reading alternative sources of literature, some students appeared to question these discourses. These findings have implications for midwifery education in encouraging students to challenge negative discourses and construct positive perceptions of asylum seeking.

Este estudo de caso buscou caracterizar a clientela de camadas populares e médias de um serviço de saúde \"alternativo\", com uma proposta de parto ambulatorial realizado fora do hospital, assistido por obstetrizes. Seu objetivo principal foi o de compreender a forma como ambas as clientelas conheceram e passaram a freqüentar esse serviço e os motivos que as levaram a fazerem essa opção, buscando reconhecer semelhanças e diferenças entre elas. O serviço em estudo foi o ambulatório e a Casa de Parto da Associação Comunitária Monte Azul - ACOMA, associação antroposófica que tinha, por objetivo, prestar serviços de saúde, prioritariamente, a moradores de duas favelas e do bairro em que se situa. A análise parte de uma abordagem antropológica, na qual a parturição é vista como uma arena, em que concepções e práticas conflitantes e competitivas se confrontam e se articulam. Foram utilizados métodos e técnicas qualitativos e quantitativos. A realização de entrevistas semi-abertas, visando a apreender as narrativas dos sujeitos acerca de suas vivências de gestação e parto, ao lado da observação participante de consultas de pré-natal e parto foram os principais instrumentos da análise qualitativa empreendida. Foi usada metodologia quantitativa para caracterizar o cenário da investigação, em que se procurou traçar o perfil sócio-epidemiológico de 564 mulheres atendidas nesse serviço, no período entre abril de 1995 e março de 1998, e de seus recém- nascidos, a partir das Declarações de Nascidos Vivos. Os resultados do levantamento sócioepidemiológico indicam que a maioria de sua clientela (77,2%) reside fora da área de abrangência prioritária da ACOMA. Por outro lado, a grande maioria dessas mulheres (93,5%) pertence aos estratos mais pobres da população do Município de São Paulo. As maneiras pelas quais a clientela soube da existência desse serviço e padrões de freqüência ao pré-natal são descritas e analisadas, quantitativa e qualitativamente, apontando para continuidades e descontinuidades entre a clientela \"particular\" e de \"usuárias\". Destaca-se que, para muitas \"usuárias\", a ACOMA era o serviço de prénatal mais freqüentado na gestação, e 44,2% dessas, deram à luz no mesmo serviço. A tendência predominante entre as \"clientes particulares\", por outro lado, era a de realizarem o pré-natal, simultaneamente, nesse e em outro serviço, pois procuravam a ACOMA, com a intenção de evitarem um parto hospitalar e de conferirem a proposta de parto do mesmo. As razões apresentadas e que levaram à escolha desse serviço para realizarem o parto foram múltiplas e complexas e acompanhadas de constrangimentos de ordem sócio-econômica e cultural. Entre elas, destacaram-se, o relacionamento com profissionais de saúde, a percepção de riscos em relação ao parto e a possibilidade de contar com acompanhantes de sua escolha, no momento do parto. Entre as \"usuárias\", o maior temor em relação ao parto hospitalar era o de não ter acesso a um leito, na hora necessária, e, entre as \"clientes particulares\", temia-se a cesárea desnecessária. Questões que se colocaram e que merecem ser aprofundadas referem-se a certas noções e valores em relação à sexualidade e à maternidade e sua associação com noções de \"modernidade\" em relação à família e ao parto, bem como sobre o processo de constituição da autoridade cultural e social de profissionais de saúde. / This study describes some of the characteristics of lower and middle class clients of an \"alternative\" health care center in which midwives were assigned to maternity care in an out clinic. It\'s primary objective was to understand how clients became familiar with the proposal; the patterns of attendance; why they chose this form of maternity care in a context where hospital birth is predominant, and whether there were significant differences in these patterns according to social class. This study was conducted at the Monte Azul Clinic and Birth Center, administrated by the Monte Azul Community Association (ACOMA). The latter is an anthroposophical association, whose basic objective is to attend to demands of the inhabitants of two shanty towns and the surrounding neighborhood. An anthropological approach in which birth is viewed as an arena where conflicting and competitve concepts and pratices are articulated and confront themselves is adopted in analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques were employed. Interviews focused on the experiences with respect to pregnancy and birthing among the subjects of this study. Participant observation of pre-natal consultations and of childbirths were also conducted. In order to characterize the context of the field of research, quantitative methodology was employed. A social and epidemiological profile was constructed of the 564 women (as well as their newborns) who gave birth between April 1995 and March 1998, receiving maternity care from midwives working at the Clinic and Birth Center during this period. For this purpose data was collected from the Declaração de Nascidos Vivos - Live Birth Form, a document from the Ministry of Health, filled out at birth by the birth attendant which records data concerning live births. Results indicate that the majority of it\'s clients (77,2%) did not live within the association\'s \"target\" community. On the other hand, data indicates that the majority of women attended (93,5%) belonged to the poorest segments of the population of Sao Paulo City. How clients were informed about the existence of this Clinic and Birth Center as well as patterns of attendance are described and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Continuities and discontinuities with respect to these patterns among the Clinic\'s clients and the midwives\' private clients are described and analyzed. Many of the Clinic\'s clients, recurred to this service predominantly for their prenatal checkups and 44,2% of these women recurred to the midwives\' assistance for maternity care. Among the midwives\' private patients, on the other hand, the predominant tendency was to do prenatal checkups simultaneously at the clinic and at other clinics where they were attended by obstetricians. The latter wanted to avoid hospital maternity care and attended prenatal checkups so as to confer and perhaps adhere to the midwives\' proposal of maternity care. Reasons presented with respect to choice of care in childbirth are multiple and complex, involving social, economic and cultural constraints. Among the reasons referred to in the interviews, the most recurrent were the quality of the relationship established with the health professionals; perception of risks with respect to childbirth; and the possibility of having support persons of their choice present during labour and childbirth. Among the clinic\'s clients, the fear of not gaining access to a hospital bed in due time was their major concern with respect to hospital maternity care. Among the midwives\' private patients, the fear of being submitted to a unnecessary cesarean section was a major concern with respect to hospital maternity care. Themes which emerged in this study and require further research include notions of \'modernity\' and their association to concepts and values concerning sexuality and maternity as well as questions related to the construction of cultural and social authority.

Este estudo de caso buscou caracterizar a clientela de camadas populares e médias de um serviço de saúde \"alternativo\", com uma proposta de parto ambulatorial realizado fora do hospital, assistido por obstetrizes. Seu objetivo principal foi o de compreender a forma como ambas as clientelas conheceram e passaram a freqüentar esse serviço e os motivos que as levaram a fazerem essa opção, buscando reconhecer semelhanças e diferenças entre elas. O serviço em estudo foi o ambulatório e a Casa de Parto da Associação Comunitária Monte Azul - ACOMA, associação antroposófica que tinha, por objetivo, prestar serviços de saúde, prioritariamente, a moradores de duas favelas e do bairro em que se situa. A análise parte de uma abordagem antropológica, na qual a parturição é vista como uma arena, em que concepções e práticas conflitantes e competitivas se confrontam e se articulam. Foram utilizados métodos e técnicas qualitativos e quantitativos. A realização de entrevistas semi-abertas, visando a apreender as narrativas dos sujeitos acerca de suas vivências de gestação e parto, ao lado da observação participante de consultas de pré-natal e parto foram os principais instrumentos da análise qualitativa empreendida. Foi usada metodologia quantitativa para caracterizar o cenário da investigação, em que se procurou traçar o perfil sócio-epidemiológico de 564 mulheres atendidas nesse serviço, no período entre abril de 1995 e março de 1998, e de seus recém- nascidos, a partir das Declarações de Nascidos Vivos. Os resultados do levantamento sócioepidemiológico indicam que a maioria de sua clientela (77,2%) reside fora da área de abrangência prioritária da ACOMA. Por outro lado, a grande maioria dessas mulheres (93,5%) pertence aos estratos mais pobres da população do Município de São Paulo. As maneiras pelas quais a clientela soube da existência desse serviço e padrões de freqüência ao pré-natal são descritas e analisadas, quantitativa e qualitativamente, apontando para continuidades e descontinuidades entre a clientela \"particular\" e de \"usuárias\". Destaca-se que, para muitas \"usuárias\", a ACOMA era o serviço de prénatal mais freqüentado na gestação, e 44,2% dessas, deram à luz no mesmo serviço. A tendência predominante entre as \"clientes particulares\", por outro lado, era a de realizarem o pré-natal, simultaneamente, nesse e em outro serviço, pois procuravam a ACOMA, com a intenção de evitarem um parto hospitalar e de conferirem a proposta de parto do mesmo. As razões apresentadas e que levaram à escolha desse serviço para realizarem o parto foram múltiplas e complexas e acompanhadas de constrangimentos de ordem sócio-econômica e cultural. Entre elas, destacaram-se, o relacionamento com profissionais de saúde, a percepção de riscos em relação ao parto e a possibilidade de contar com acompanhantes de sua escolha, no momento do parto. Entre as \"usuárias\", o maior temor em relação ao parto hospitalar era o de não ter acesso a um leito, na hora necessária, e, entre as \"clientes particulares\", temia-se a cesárea desnecessária. Questões que se colocaram e que merecem ser aprofundadas referem-se a certas noções e valores em relação à sexualidade e à maternidade e sua associação com noções de \"modernidade\" em relação à família e ao parto, bem como sobre o processo de constituição da autoridade cultural e social de profissionais de saúde. / This study describes some of the characteristics of lower and middle class clients of an \"alternative\" health care center in which midwives were assigned to maternity care in an out clinic. It\'s primary objective was to understand how clients became familiar with the proposal; the patterns of attendance; why they chose this form of maternity care in a context where hospital birth is predominant, and whether there were significant differences in these patterns according to social class. This study was conducted at the Monte Azul Clinic and Birth Center, administrated by the Monte Azul Community Association (ACOMA). The latter is an anthroposophical association, whose basic objective is to attend to demands of the inhabitants of two shanty towns and the surrounding neighborhood. An anthropological approach in which birth is viewed as an arena where conflicting and competitve concepts and pratices are articulated and confront themselves is adopted in analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques were employed. Interviews focused on the experiences with respect to pregnancy and birthing among the subjects of this study. Participant observation of pre-natal consultations and of childbirths were also conducted. In order to characterize the context of the field of research, quantitative methodology was employed. A social and epidemiological profile was constructed of the 564 women (as well as their newborns) who gave birth between April 1995 and March 1998, receiving maternity care from midwives working at the Clinic and Birth Center during this period. For this purpose data was collected from the Declaração de Nascidos Vivos - Live Birth Form, a document from the Ministry of Health, filled out at birth by the birth attendant which records data concerning live births. Results indicate that the majority of it\'s clients (77,2%) did not live within the association\'s \"target\" community. On the other hand, data indicates that the majority of women attended (93,5%) belonged to the poorest segments of the population of Sao Paulo City. How clients were informed about the existence of this Clinic and Birth Center as well as patterns of attendance are described and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Continuities and discontinuities with respect to these patterns among the Clinic\'s clients and the midwives\' private clients are described and analyzed. Many of the Clinic\'s clients, recurred to this service predominantly for their prenatal checkups and 44,2% of these women recurred to the midwives\' assistance for maternity care. Among the midwives\' private patients, on the other hand, the predominant tendency was to do prenatal checkups simultaneously at the clinic and at other clinics where they were attended by obstetricians. The latter wanted to avoid hospital maternity care and attended prenatal checkups so as to confer and perhaps adhere to the midwives\' proposal of maternity care. Reasons presented with respect to choice of care in childbirth are multiple and complex, involving social, economic and cultural constraints. Among the reasons referred to in the interviews, the most recurrent were the quality of the relationship established with the health professionals; perception of risks with respect to childbirth; and the possibility of having support persons of their choice present during labour and childbirth. Among the clinic\'s clients, the fear of not gaining access to a hospital bed in due time was their major concern with respect to hospital maternity care. Among the midwives\' private patients, the fear of being submitted to a unnecessary cesarean section was a major concern with respect to hospital maternity care. Themes which emerged in this study and require further research include notions of \'modernity\' and their association to concepts and values concerning sexuality and maternity as well as questions related to the construction of cultural and social authority.

Sexualité et maternité occupent un espace prépondérant dans l’oeuvre de Zola. Cet écrivain honni ou adulé du 19ème siècle semble avoir été très influencé par son entourage et son époque. Il était entouré de trois femmes qui l’ont beaucoup influencé à différentes étapes de sa vie : sa mère, sa femme et sa maîtresse. Mais on ne peut réduire cette influence à son milieu familial ! En effet, plusieurs littéraires ont forgé ses idées sur la maternité et la sexualité : Balzac, Michelet, Stendhal… A la lecture de ses écrits, nous constatons qu’il voit en la maternité un acte sacré. En revanche, l’avis de l’auteur naturaliste sur la sexualité est plus ambigu. En effet, il donne l’air de la dédaigner, d’avoir en horreur ceux qui ne jurent que par le vice. Mais paradoxalement, Zola fait de la sexualité un de ses thèmes de prédilection. Si bien qu’il se verra affublé de l’étiquette de pornographe. Zola a-t-il finalement horreur de la sexualité, comme il le prétend ? Ou est-il au contraire un obsédé sexuel ? / Maternity and sexuality are among the main themes of the work of Emile Zola. Despised as well as admired, this author of the nineteenth century seems to have been much influenced by his life experiences and his epoch. It seems that the fact that he has been living mainly among women Ŕ his mother, maternal grand-mother, wife and mistress Ŕ has greatly influenced his perceptions about maternity and sexuality. However, we should not obliterate that the fact that his readings of some authors have also contributed to his ideas about these two themes, mainly Balzac, Michelet and Stendhal. Zola has got a fixed idea about maternity : it’s a sacred act whose purity should be preserved. He firmly believes that a mother should make all sorts of sacrifices for her child, including her sexual life. It becomes however more difficult for us to determine how Zola perceives sexuality. He surely pretends to dislike any sexual activity but on the other hand, he writes profusely about sexuality in his work. Quite ambiguous… / Classics and World Languages / M. A. (French)