‘It's them faulty genes again’: women, men and the gendered nature of genetic responsibility in prenatal blood screening

Reed, Kate

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2008.01134.x

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Mothers are expected to seek out information about the risks to which their children might be exposed and to take steps to manage and minimise these risks. They are now held accountable for many of the ills and misfortunes which affect children that once were considered bad luck or the result of fate (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 1995, Lupton 1999, Reed 2009, Lee, Macvarish and Bristow 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The best thing for the baby’: Mothers’ concepts and experiences related to promoting their infants’ health and development

Lupton

2011

Health, Risk & Society

140

168

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Mothers and pregnant women in contemporary western societies are at the centre of a web of expert and lay discourses concerning the ways they should promote and protect the health and development of their foetuses and infants. This article reports the findings from an Australian study involving interviews with 60 mothers. The findings explore in detail four topics discussed in the interviews related to pregnancy and caring for young infants: disciplining the pregnant body; promoting infants' health; immunisation; and promoting infants' development. It is concluded that the mothers were highly aware of their responsibilities in protecting their foetuses and infants from harm and promoting their health and development. They conceptualised the infant body as highly vulnerable and requiring protection from contamination. They therefore generally supported the idea of vaccination as a way of protecting their babies' immature immune systems, but were also often ambivalent about it. The mothers were aware of the judgemental attitudes of others, including other mothers, towards their caring efforts and attempted to conform to the ideal of the 'good mother'. The emotional dimensions of caring for infants and protecting their health are discussed in relation to the voluntary participation of mothers in conforming to societal expectations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The best thing for the baby’: Mothers’ concepts and experiences related to promoting their infants’ health and development

Lupton

2011

Health, Risk & Society

140

168

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“…Even though men too are involved in pregnancy care and parenthood (Markens et al 2003, Hallowell et al 2006, Ivry & Teman 2008, Reed 2009, Inhorn 2012, people across cultures tend to place the primary responsibilities for childbearing and family well-being on the shoulders of women (Inhorn 1995, Morgan 1997, Paxson 2004, Ivry 2007, Tràn 2010. If a pregnancy goes awry, therefore, prospective mothers are often blamed.…”

Section: Gender and Kinship: Building Families Through Reproductive Smentioning

confidence: 97%

Selective Reproductive Technologies

Gammeltoft

Wahlberg

2014

Annu. Rev. Anthropol.

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From a historical perspective, selective reproduction is nothing new. Infanticide, abandonment, and selective neglect of children have a long history, and the widespread deployment of sterilization and forced abortion in the twentieth century has been well documented. Yet in recent decades selective reproduction has been placed under the aegis of science and expertise in novel ways. New laboratory and clinical techniques allow for the selective fertilization of gametes, implantation of embryos, or abortion of fetuses. Although they will often overlap with assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), what we term selective reproductive technologies (SRTs) are of a more specific nature: Rather than aiming to overcome infertility, they are used to prevent or allow the birth of certain kinds of children. This review highlights anthropological research into SRTs in different parts of the world, discussing how selective reproduction engages with issues of long-standing theoretical concern in anthropology, such as politics, kinship, gender, religion, globalization, and inequality. 201 Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2014.43:201-216. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by University of Central Florida on 02/04/15. For personal use only.

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“…While offering women reproductive choice, it also individualises reproductive decision-making, situating the gravity of responsibility firmly in women's hands and away from men (Rapp 2000). As a result of this researchers have begun to explore men's involvement in pregnancy and screening in more depth (Jordan 1990, Sandelowski 1994, Reed 2009). …”

Section: Men Women and Prenatal Screeningmentioning

confidence: 98%

Making men matter: exploring gender roles in prenatal blood screening

Reed

2011

Journal of Gender Studies

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Men's involvement in pregnancy has become an increasing area of interest in research on gender and reproduction. However, little attention has been given to men's roles when their partners are undergoing prenatal screening. Drawing on the findings of qualitative research with pregnant women and their male partners in a northern city in the UK, this paper aims to explore the increasing significance of men's roles in prenatal blood screening. Findings reveal that men occupy a range of important roles in screening both as supporters of their pregnant partners and as potential fathers. They also revealed however that men's participation is often inhibited by existing institutional and organisational factors including the attitudes of health professionals and workplace norms, both of which continue to be influenced by traditional gender role ideology. The paper concludes by arguing that pregnant women and their male partners therefore find themselves caught in a gender paradox whereby the desire for greater equality in pregnancy and screening has yet to be fully realised in practice.

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‘It's them faulty genes again’: women, men and the gendered nature of genetic responsibility in prenatal blood screening

Cited by 43 publications

References 25 publications

‘The best thing for the baby’: Mothers’ concepts and experiences related to promoting their infants’ health and development

‘The best thing for the baby’: Mothers’ concepts and experiences related to promoting their infants’ health and development

Selective Reproductive Technologies

Making men matter: exploring gender roles in prenatal blood screening

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