“You are What You Eat”: Nutritional Norms, Maternal Deviance, and Neutralization of Women's Prenatal Diets

Doing pregnancy: pregnant embodiment as performance

“…In our medicalized culture that sees pregnancy as a physiological process during which everything consumed (or done) by the woman is being transferred to the womb (Katz Rothman, 1993), women receive a lot of advice about prenatal nutrition, care, and exercise (Brooks-Gardner, 2003). Almost all foods, for instance, have to be re-evaluated as being "safe" or "not safe" during pregnancy (Copelton, 2007). Women receive advice on how to sleep, walk, and even think during pregnancy (Brooks-Gardner, 2003).…”

“…While family, relatives, friends and even strangers routinely invade expectant mothers' privacy by touching, advising, or policing them (Bailey, 1999;Warren & Brewis, 2004), prenatal nutrition becomes a site where self-discipline of an expectant mother is evaluated based on her ability to adhere to prenatal nutrition guidelines. Pregnant women have to reevaluate their food consumption, carefully considering everything that can be eaten or drank as potentially beneficial or harmful to the baby (Copelton, 2007). Food consumption, therefore, ceases to be a routine process and instead is transformed into the work of making sure that the baby is receiving the best possible nutrition.…”

Reclaiming a moral identity: stillbirth, stigma and ‘moral mothers’

“…Disseminating and encouraging particular forms of behaviour are government-funded health campaigns that are not only targeted at behaviour modification but which also effectively label mothers 'good' or bad' (Oaks, 2000). These campaigns have led to an ideology of the 'expectant mother' (Copelton, 2007). Looking, for example, at nutritional intake, Copelton (2007) argues that…”

“…These campaigns have led to an ideology of the 'expectant mother' (Copelton, 2007). Looking, for example, at nutritional intake, Copelton (2007) argues that…”

“…The concept of the 'moral mother' can be identified to the beginning of capitalist society (Chodorow, 1978;Westwood, 1996) and in late modernity, she is in existence still: her overriding guiding ethic is the proper care of children (May, 2008). Copelton (2007) claims that the moral mother is an identity to be taken on before birth, indeed at conception or earlier, and that there is now an ideology of the 'expectant mother''. This, maintains, is a consequence of the creation of a 'public foetus'.…”