Despite the medicalization and dominance of risk discourses in pregnancy, scholars have noted that women are still held socially responsible for the health of themselves and their fetus (Miller, 2005; Murphy, 2000). In order to align themselves with social constructions of a good mother, women must present themselves as self-
regulated and selfless individuals dedicated to the well-being of their developing fetus and family (Lupton, 1999). This requires pregnant women to negotiate a wide range of information including personal experience, society, family, and expert advice (Miller, 2007; Tardy, 2000). Model 2 can be seen as women constructing themselves as responsible and reasonable consumers of health information in a way that aligns them with social conceptions of the good mother. Some authors refer to these social
constructions as neo-liberal discourses of motherhood (Murphy, 2000; Rose, 1999) and intensive mothering (Miller, 2005; Lee, 2008). However, due to a lack of specificity and consistent use of the terms, they will not be used further in this discussion.
The individual components of Model 2 (New Information, Value Modifiers, and Decision Making) offers support to the claim that the women studied describe themselves as systematically negotiating risk information and making well-reasoned and responsible decisions. The first section of the model, New Information, shows the information women receive belonging to a continuum of perceived strength from weak to strong. Perceived weak sources such as television, the internet and family resonate with the expert risk discourses which view lay interactions with health information as a dangerous endeavor (Miller, 2005; Nettleton, Burrows, & O’Malley). Not surprisingly, healthcare professionals, manufacturers and the government, which are considered authoritative bodies in Western culture (Miller, 2005), are perceived as strong sources of information by women. The construction of this information continuum, then, demonstrates women’s perceptions of the dangers of the information age, and the need for prudence when evaluating weaker sources (Nettleton et al., 2005).
Given the distrust of a variety of information sources, the second section of Model 2, Value Modifiers, offers insight into how women appraise various sources of
information to determine the significance. The value modifiers women described in the interviews can be seen as rhetorical devices to align themselves with social ideals of the rational and loving mother. Using techniques such as Cross Referencing, Consensus Building, and seeking a Unified Message are ways women demonstrate their caution with information they receive from weak sources. This need for caution is consistent with professional-medical critiques of the information age which sees the surplus of
information in Western society as particularly dangerous for lay people (Nettleton et al., 2005).
The value modifier of Personal Experience is a notable exception to women aligning themselves with professional critiques of information. Previous pregnancies were particularly influential in shaping women’s current perceptions of information and risk. For example, PW-22’s two previous and relatively uneventful pregnancies made her less worried about risks during pregnancy. However, PW-23’s miscarriage during her second pregnancy has made her more risk-aversive. These examples demonstrate
women’s trust in their experiences and personal understandings of pregnancy to evaluate risk and not purely rely on social constructions of the good mother.
Previous research has documented how women’s experience of motherhood can lead women to reflect on social discourses regarding mothering and challenge them (Kelha, 2009; Lee, 2008; Lupton, 1999; Miller, 2007). For example, women often learn that the social and medical pressure they experience to engage in breast feeding is an unrealistic expectation (Lee, 2008; Miller, 2007). Moreover, women often come to see formula feeding as a reasonable alternative (Murphy, 2000). However, this research notes that women do not fully reject the risk discourses surrounding motherhood but simply learn to re-interpret their experiences within them (Miller, 2007; Tardy, 2000). The value modifier of personal experience creates space for women’s own understanding of risks in pregnancy to interact with the discourses of risk and motherhood.
The third section of the second model, Decision Making and Controlling Exposure, offers the most explicit evidence of women constructing themselves as good mothers by presenting themselves as reasonable and responsible individuals. The section is a description of women’s actions regarding risk information they have appraised and deemed significant. The decision making constructs women discussed such as advanced
planning, responsibility and balancing risk are immediately recognizable as terms consistent with culture of individual risk management (Beck, 1992). The women are presenting themselves as autonomous and rational beings fully capable of making reasoned actions for the benefit of themselves and their fetus. Other constructs in the decision making framework including alternatives, isolation, and expense compliment this picture. Women have taken on the responsibility to care for the health of their fetus at a personal and financial cost to themselves. The elements comprising the Decision
Making and Controlling Exposure section of Model 2 can be seen as women constructing themselves as responsible mothers willing to sacrifice themselves for the health of their families.
Finally, the overall form of Model 2 lends support to the notion that the women’s perceptions of risk, responsibility and decision making are consistent with social
discourses of good mothering. The model presents the process of receiving, appraising, and acting on risk information as a fairly straightforward process. This creates the impression of women engaging in a rational process of weighing various sources of information and making a well-reasoned decision. The women are presenting themselves as self-regulating, self-determining mothers putting their child’s needs ahead of their own. Through this, they are aligning themselves with current social perceptions of the good mothers (Miller, 2007; Murphy, 2000).
5.4 Identifying the Relationships between Model One and Two