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Cited by 244Family Dynamics and RelationshipsGender and Feminist StudiesHistorical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes

“Is This What Motherhood is All About?”: Weaving Experiences and Discourse through Transition to First-Time Motherhood

Miller, Tina·2007·Gender & Society
DOI 10.1177/0891243207300561
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Abstract

This article focuses on transition to first-time motherhood and explores the experiences of a group of women as they anticipate, give birth, and engage in early mothering. It illuminates how these women draw on, weave together, and challenge dominant strands of discourse that circumscribe their journeys into motherhood. Using qualitative longitudinal data, prenatal and postnatal episodes of transition are explored. The analysis and juxtaposing of these data reveal the different ways women anticipate and gradually make sense of becoming mothers. While there is a disjuncture between expectations and experiences for these new mothers, this article draws attention to the different ways women discursively position themselves through transition. It reveals how birth experiences can act as a discursive turning point and underscores the obduracy of some strands of dominant discourse. These findings contribute to a subtler and more nuanced understanding of the dynamic interplay between personal experience and gendered discourses.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0891243207300561

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Authors
Miller, T.
Affiliations
Oxford Brookes University (GB)
Corresponding author
Miller, Tina
ORCID
Miller, Tina
Venue
Gender & Society
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2007-06
Volume
21
Issue
3
Pages
337-358
ISSN
  • 0891-2432 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-3977
DOI
10.1177/0891243207300561
OpenAlex
W2119437676
Cited by
244
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 16
FWCI
15.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Gender & Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes
Keywords
first-time motherhood, transition to motherhood, childbirth experience, prenatal experience, postnatal experience, gender discourse, maternal identity, motherhood discourse

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