Concealment of Birth: Time to Repeal a 200-Year-Old “Convenient Stop-Gap”?

Abstract

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‘A Hard-Working and Nice Person?’ Respectability, Femininity and Infanticide in England and Wales, 1800–2000

“…What does not seem in doubt, however, is the extent to which twenty-first century English and Welsh infanticide cases, along with concealment of birth, remain influenced by what were originally nineteenth and early twentieth century concerns about gender, motherhood, and respectabilityemphasising that the infanticidal woman stands apart from "other" female criminals and is deserving of special treatment. This is not simply the result of the relevant legislation remaining largely unchanged since it was passed, though inevitably the wording and precedent for the statutes in question plays a part in creating this perception (Grey, 2010;Milne, 2019). Yet as research by Sylvia Murphy Tighe and Joan Lalor has demonstrated, concealing a pregnancya phenomenon which increases the likelihood for multiple issues, up to and including the prospect of infanticideis not simply a historical relic, but a contemporary and global problem that is often directly related to traumatic experiences: "The reasons for concealed pregnancy may have changed but the fear women experience has not" (Murphy Tighe and Lalor, 2019: 613).…”

Vaginal Examinations During Childbirth: Consent, Coercion and COVID-19

“…The development of the modern maternity system, where birth usually takes place in hospital with medical oversight, has resulted in ‘obstetric hegemony’ which expects birthing people to be compliant with whatever testing and surveillance is deemed necessary by medical professionals (Anderson 2004 ; Milne 2019 , 157). Though this paternalistic, ‘doctor knows best’ attitude was a feature across medicine, it was—and to an extent remains—particularly pervasive within the maternity setting, where it is reinforced by the societal expectation that pregnant people should do whatever it takes to maximise foetal well-being (Purvis 2017 ).…”

Doing Human Service Ethnography

“…It is notable that it is Jacqui who is deemed to have concealed the pregnancy, not Parker's father, highlighting the social worker's concern with maternal responsibility. It is possible to draw links between the category of the 'responsible' pregnant woman and the 'good mother' who puts the needs of her foetus and child first (Lupton, 2013;Milne, 2019). This moral account of concealment, linked to maternal responsibility, is bound up with Stella's assessment of Jacqui's past behaviour and the professional assessments underpinning the finding of fact.…”