Thesis advisor: Juliet B. Schor / Why do mothers practice a sustainable lifestyle? While existing literature views motherhood as a motivating factor that encourages women to adopt sustainable practices, this article conceptualizes women's desire to live sustainably as an outcome shaped dialectically with the material experience of mothering. Drawing from interviews with eight mothers who self-identified as interested in living sustainably, this study shows that intensive mothering creates time scarcity in mother schedules, discouraging women from acting upon their ecological concerns, and exacerbates their reliance on eco-intensive options. Women adopt sustainable practices to compensate for their current inability to create institutional changes through political channels. By investing in the immaterial qualities of these practices, women pass on cultural resources that enable their children to facilitate institutional changes. Mothers' efforts in cultivating children's eco-friendly dispositions are not only a symbol of "good" mothering but also a marker of the boundary between the household and the market. My findings contextualize the formation of ecologically oriented taste within the experience of mothering and present an alternative approach to understanding why women engage in a sustainable lifestyle. This article also holds insights for explaining the relationship between engagement in a sustainable lifestyle and participation in the formal political process. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

This study explores women’s experiences with infertility in Christian faith communities. Drawing from nine one-on-one interviews, the author argues that the presence of particular religious ideologies, social interactions, and rituals within faith communities contributed to the stigmatization and marginalization of study participants. Employing Muted Group Theory, the author uncovers the communicative strategies infertile women employ to resist these oppressive practices. A qualitative analysis of participants’ narratives presents two principal categories, containing a total of four findings relating to the harmful beliefs and practices of these women’s faith communities. The author argues that the veneration of motherhood and children suggests that infertile women inherently lack purpose and value and that the failure of Christian faith communities to provide safe environments for women without children exacerbates their isolation and grief. Action steps for Christian faith communities are recommended.

Dr. Kelly Price analyzes the evidence on how becoming a mother can impact an LPGA player's productivity, performance, and earnings.

South Africa is the most popular international destination for Zimbabwean migrants escaping the economic crisis of their country. It has been estimated that by 2016, one and a half million Zimbabwean nationals were living in South Africa. However, little research explores the lived experience of Zimbabweans in South Africa in the context of family. This is despite scholars highlighting an increase in family migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa in recent years. This study explores the parenting experiences of immigrant Zimbabwean parents raising their children in South Africa. Specifically, it investigates the ways in which raising children in a different country and cultural context influences parents’ understanding of and approaches to parenting. Nine Zimbabwean mothers and fathers living with their spouses and children in Cape Town participated in a qualitative study, with semi-structured interviews. Data was collected and analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that the participants’ overarching experience of parenting was that they were ultimately raising ‘South Africans’. Participants framed their children’s ‘South African-ness’ positively, identifying the children as cosmopolitan and empowered, which they celebrated. However, they also lamented the children’s loss of identity as the most problematic aspect of ‘South African-ness’. To navigate the resultant tensions, participants relaxed some of their existing beliefs while simultaneously implementing measures to reinforce some non-negotiable values and beliefs in their children. This dissertation argues that while parents’ understanding of parenting is strongly rooted in their cultural background and values, they adapt their parenting styles and practices according to what they calculate will enable their families to thrive. The study adds to the body of knowledge on immigrant Zimbabwean families who have become part of South African society. This is especially relevant in light of the South African government’s laudable initiatives towards regularising the stay of Zimbabweans in South Africa, such as the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) of 2009 and its successive permits. This study can therefore contribute to the body of knowledge that informs the ways in which South Africa can continue to respond to the reality of migration from Zimbabwe.

Postpartum depression affects between 10 - 15% of all mothers within the first year after giving birth (Dietz, 2007; Epperson, 1999).  Studies that have focused on women's experiences of postpartum depression have found similar in experience of contrast between women's expectations of motherhood, and their actual experiences (Beck, 2002; Knudson-Martin & Silverstein, 2009; Mauthner, 1999).  Using a phenomenological approach, this study sought to explore women's experiences of contrast, understand how this experience contributed to their social construction of what motherhood meant, and ask if and how women might change the messages that they receive regarding being a mother. Seven women were recruited from a postpartum depression support group and interviewed in a focus-group setting.  Respondents noted that they experienced a great contrast between their expectations of motherhood and what they actually experienced.  These expectations, however, seemed ambiguous and generic.  Women reported that they were surprised by the amount of judgment and pressure they felt surrounding being a mother.  Participants seemed to challenge their preconceptions about being a mother by focusing on making choices that were best for them and their children and by allowing unhappy feelings to be compatible with their definition of a good mother.  Women in the study described wanting to hear messages that were honest and open about the realities of motherhood, both from the media and in their interactions with other women and loved ones.  Participants also seemed to feel strongly that more efforts should be made to reach out to new mothers. / Master of Science

This multiple case study shows how motherhood works with and against two women's literacy identities, as interpreted through the theoretical lens of Herman's Dialogical Self Theory. The evidence of this is shown in the tension between their roles as mothers and their personal roles as readers and writers. In many ways, taking on a reader or writer role meant to deny other roles for these women, showing the clash between efforts to consolidate multiple I-positions. While their meta-positions helped them recognize the discrepancies in their I-positions, there was little evidence of mediating third positions to negotiate their roles. This descriptive study explored the way two women approach their roles "I a reader" and "I as writer" while simultaneously navigating their I-position "I as mother." This exploration was conducted through the use of semi-structured interviews and the subsequent coding of the transcripts of those interviews. The coding included the identification of all instances where I-positions manifested in the interview text. Among numerous other roles, the roles related to literacy and motherhood involved a particular friction. The findings of the study make evident that tension exists for these two women between their roles as mothers and as literate people.

The purpose of the study is to examine whether norms and expectations about motherhood affect mothers and whether normative notions of motherhood are reproduced by mothers in today's society. We live in a society that is constantly changing, as is the role of mother. Becoming a mother is something that women do through socio-cultural aspects and norms and by reflecting on themselves in the role of mother. The study has used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. There were six mothers who participated in the study, those who participated were students or working women. Previous research shows how norms and values as well as close contacts can be central factors in how women shape their mother roles, in addition, how deviant factors can affect women in their role and identity. The result was that the women in the study are influenced by some norms, they maintain and reproduce the norms and expectations that they think are good regarding motherhood and challenge the norms and expectations that they consider less good. In conclusion, the informants agreed that an obligation that exists in motherhood is to adapt to the child and the child's needs. / Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur normer och förväntningar kring moderskap påverkar mödrar och om normativa föreställningar av moderskap reproduceras av mammor i dagens samhälle. Vi lever i ett samhälle som förändras kontinuerligt, det gör även modersrollen. Att bli mamma är något som kvinnor gör via sociokulturella aspekter och normer samt genom att reflektera kring sig själv i rollen som mamma. Det var ett kvalitativt förhållningssätt med semistrukturerade intervjuer som användes i studien. Det var sex mödrar som deltog i studien, de som deltog var studerande eller arbetade kvinnor. Den tidigare forskningen visar hur normer och värderingar samt nära kontakter kan vara centrala faktorer i hur kvinnor formar sina modersroller, dessutom presenteras hur ett avvikande faktorer kan påverka kvinnorna i deras roll och identitet. Resultatet var att kvinnorna i studien blir påverkade av en del normer, de upprätthåller och reproducerar de normer och förväntningar som de tycker är bra gällande moderskapet och utmanar de normer och förväntningar som de anser som mindre bra. Avslutningsvis var informanterna eniga om att en förpliktelse som finns på moderskapet är att anpassa sig efter barnet och barnets behov.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Infertility is currently a serious problem that is escalating, not only in South Africa, but also worldwide. In Cape Town, a culturally diverse, urban community of approximately 1000 couples are referred to the Groote Schuur Hospital Infertility Clinic annually. Although infertility is primarily regarded as a medical condition, the treatments have emotional effects on infertile couples due to the recurring highs and lows that often accompany treatments. This study aimed to qualitatively explore and understand the emotional and psychological experiences of infertility and its treatments (specifically In Vitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer). Social constructionism is based on the premise that realities are not constructed in a vacuum but rather undergo a process whereby the subjective and inter-subjective experiences over time and through cultural processes come to be regarded as truths. These truths become internalised and function as lenses through which we see ourselves, compose and invent ourselves accordingly, making sense of what would otherwise have been chaotic and meaningless experiences. Additional aims were to examine women's experiences of infertility care whilst undergoing treatment and describe their experiences of coping with infertility and In Vitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET). Semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with 21 women presenting with primary infertility at a fertility clinic. This study utilised an ethnographic case study design. The results of the study suggested that women perceived themselves as not conforming to a dominant belief system that promotes motherhood as the most important role for women. The women described their 'failure' to fulfill socio-cultural expectations as emotionally turbulent. Some of the psychological responses to infertility included feelings of disappointment, shock, denial, devastation, anger, frustration, sadness, inadequacy, poor self-image and self-esteem. The women's personal accounts of their experiences of In Vitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) revealed that they found the treatment to be highly stressful, with emotional bouts of anxiety, nervousness, excitement and optimism. A psychological synopsis of infertility and IVF-ET is infertility and IVF-ET presents. The findings in this study suggest the need for the incorporation of 6 presented. This diagrammatic representation shows the intensity of the emotional rollercoaster that psychosocial intervention into infertility management. Greater attention to the psychological and emotional repercussions of infertility treatment could lead to a more personalised approach which, in turn, would optimise patient satisfaction and also prepare couples for the demands of the program by informing them about better ways of coping.

Stigma surrounding substance use has been documented as a roadblock to recovery, posing a greater barrier to care for some populations more than others. In particular, pregnant and parenting women are an often overlooked and understudied demographic who could benefit considerably from targeted resources. Though, due to stigma surrounding substance use and motherhood, this demographic is routinely subject to judgement and discrimination resulting in delayed treatment entry. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, issues of access have been compounded by a reduction in services despite heightened mental health struggles caused by prolonged periods of isolation and abrupt changes in lifestyle and environment. The purpose of this study is to understand how stigmatization affects help-seeking behaviour and to explore the impact of COVID-19 on women’s mental health and treatment experiences. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted from October 2020-February 2021, with current and past clients of integrated treatment programs in Ontario (n=24). Using an interpretive description approach, data was constructed to identify how stigma is internalized, anticipated, and embodied in the context of help-seeking behaviour, as well as to determine the extent to which the pandemic has interfered with maternal wellbeing. The following themes emerged: (1) stigma and help-seeking (2) COVID-19 and maternal wellness (3) stigma at the structural level: barriers to care and (4) mitigating stigma to enhance help-seeking: facilitating recovery through relationships. This research contributes evidence to a growing body of literature emphasizing the importance of relationships in the recovery process for combatting the effects of stigma and promoting early treatment entry and lends insight into the ways in which pregnant and parenting women with problematic substance use have navigated recovery during COVID-19. / Graduate

This study explores frontline support workers’ perspectives on how mothers’ needs and children’s rights are balanced in harm reduction programs in an urban centre in Alberta, Canada. Interviews were conducted with five (5) workers employed at harm reduction programs supporting mothers and/or children facing circumstances related to substance use, domestic violence, mental health, poverty, homelessness, and criminal justice system involvement. The interviews, along with content from publicly available (web-based) program descriptions, were analyzed through a theoretical framework that mobilizes theories of intersectional stigma (both on symbolic/interactional and structural levels). Participants revealed that intersectional stigma emerges from an abstinence-based child welfare system (namely, Children’s Services (CS) in Alberta), which constitutes a major barrier to ensuring the best interests of both mothers and children. Such stigma manifests based on the intersecting identities that women hold as mothers, as substance users, as partners who face violence, as criminalized persons, and more. Experiences of these barriers disproportionately impact mothers who do not meet idealized standards of mothering—standards which seem to be upheld and reproduced by the medicalization of motherhood. These families are more vulnerable to interventions including child apprehensions, which have severe impacts for both mothers and their children. The perspectives of the frontline support workers point to the importance of a harm reduction approach as an alternative to the current harm elimination one, but identified tensions between harm reduction and harm elimination remain a barrier to balancing the best interests of both mothers and children. Despite these tensions, the participants discuss their own practices of self-awareness and reflection and point to relationship building, non-judgment, and client-centering as essential to the role of the frontline worker who adopts a harm reduction approach.