Motherhood and Infertility: Viewing Motherhood through the Lens of Infertility

Abstract

This research was motivated by the need to develop positive feminist discourses about women who are infertile and who pursue medical interventions to achieve motherhood. This study analysed how 19 women who wanted children but who could not easily have them constructed their desire for children, motherhood and their infertility. Reasons for wanting children included motherhood as ‘natural instinct’, as ‘a stage in the development of a relationship’ and as ‘social expectation’. These were used to construct motherhood as physical, psychological and social completeness and fulfilment for women. Consequently, infertility was experienced as guilt, inadequacy and failure, reinforced by the language used to describe infertility. Women also discussed their desire for children in terms of reproductive decision-making, emphasizing notions of agency, becoming a parent as a stage in a relationship and infertility as a disruption of life plans. Our analysis argues for a broader definition of motherhood and a wider variety of culturally sanctioned roles for women.

Parenting in Planned Lesbian Families

“…Identity motives also refer to gender roles and these motives may be less important for lesbian women than they are for heterosexual men and women. Furthermore, in society, for heterosexual women the identity of being a mother is still evidence of their femininity (Morell, 1994;Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000). It was also found that for social mothers of the fist child who were biological mothers of subsequent children in the lesbian relationship, motives such as parenthood and continuity were more important compared to 'only social mothers.'…”

Expectations and experiences of midlife intending mothers engaging with Assisted Reproductive Technology

“…The decision to become a mother is shaped by nature, social structure (McMahon, 2004) sociocultural context, and women's personal views of motherhood (Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000). Rewards of childbearing may encompass personal achievement, emotional fulfilment, sense of identity, family continuity, happiness, and life enhancement (Sarantakos, 1996).…”

“…Rewards of childbearing may encompass personal achievement, emotional fulfilment, sense of identity, family continuity, happiness, and life enhancement (Sarantakos, 1996). Motherhood has been reported to offer relationship stability and provide a sense of purpose by, fulfilment, and may offer physical, psychological, and social completeness (Phoenix & Wollett, 1983;Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000). The decision to become a mother is not always socially and emotionally centred on women's lives (Badinter, 1981); however, motherhood is an achieved identity that, for some women,…”

“…Infertility may be viewed as impairment, more so in low-income couples, as motherhood is an important role in Western societies (Phoenix & Wollett, 1983) and infertility as failure (Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000).…”

“…Involuntary childlessness is depicted as a failure to attain cultural norms, and this is seen to increase the medicalisation of childlessness (Nachtigall, Becker, & Wozny, 1992). Crowe (1987) as cited in (Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000) considers that many childless women have little choice but to seek medical intervention to avoid the stigmatisation associated with infertility.…”