Pregnant Women and Pregnant Ladies: A Comparative Analysis of Pregnancy as a Classed Experience in England, c.1870-1918

孕妇和怀孕女士：对英国怀孕作为一种分类经历的比较分析，c.1870-1918

• 批准号: 2884556
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2884556
• 关键词: Pregnant; Women; Ladies; Comparative; Analysis

Experiences of pregnancy in late-Victorian and Edwardian England were profoundly influenced by the woman's class position. Amidst population anxieties, pregnancy assumed primacy in expectations of womanhood, yet class privileges and prejudices were unyielding. At these intersections, different practices and understandings of pregnancy emerged. Familial and financial pressures left working-class women with no choice but to work tirelessly throughout pregnancy, subjecting them to exhaustion, illness, and malnutrition. Until a small maternity allowance was granted in 1911, these women received no support -- both State and society condoned the risks, hardships, and traumas of working-class pregnancy. Middle- and upper-class pregnancies, however, looked entirely different. With access to antenatal medical care, these pregnancies were characterised by rest, gentle exercise, and diets tailored to optimise mother and baby's health. These stark contrasts expose class as a powerful discursive influence upon womanhood in this period. Practices and expectations of pregnancy differed along a spectrum of class, but how did women of different classes conceptualise pregnancy differently? Did they internalise or resist these norms? How did their class status manifest in particular psychological and bodily experiences of pregnancy? By recognising pregnant women as historical agents and privileging their perspectives, analyses of their autobiographies can answer these questions.Nuancing this analysis with disability historiography reveals that women of all class strata perceived their pregnant bodies as disabled. Overexertion often incapacitated working-class women during pregnancy, disabling them in their duties to their families. Meanwhile, health advice literature mandated rest and seclusion for upper-class pregnancies. Disability theory elucidates the common sentiments produced by class-specific experiences, complicating our understanding of pregnancy in this period.

维多利亚晚期和爱德华七世时期的英国，妇女的怀孕经历深受其阶级地位的影响。在人们的焦虑中，怀孕在对女性的期望中占据了首要地位，然而阶级特权和偏见却顽固不化。在这些交叉点上，出现了对怀孕的不同做法和理解。家庭和经济的压力使工人阶级妇女别无选择，只能在整个怀孕期间不知疲倦地工作，使她们疲惫不堪，生病和营养不良。在1911年发放小额产妇津贴之前，这些妇女得不到任何支助-国家和社会都容忍工人阶级怀孕的风险、艰辛和创伤。然而，中产阶级和上层阶级的怀孕情况则完全不同。在获得产前医疗保健的情况下，这些怀孕的特点是休息、温和的锻炼和为优化母亲和婴儿健康而量身定制的饮食。这些鲜明的对比暴露了阶级对这一时期女性的强大话语影响。怀孕的实践和期望沿着不同的阶级，但不同阶级的妇女对怀孕的概念是如何不同的？他们是内化还是抵制这些规范？她们的阶级地位是如何在怀孕的心理和身体体验中表现出来的？通过将孕妇视为历史的主体，并从她们的视角出发，对她们的自传进行分析，可以回答这些问题。将这种分析与残疾史学相结合，可以发现，各个阶层的妇女都认为自己怀孕的身体是残疾的。劳动过度往往使工人阶级妇女在怀孕期间丧失能力，使她们无法履行对家庭的责任。与此同时，健康咨询文献要求上层阶级的孕妇休息和隔离。残疾理论阐明了阶级特定经验所产生的共同情感，使我们对这一时期怀孕的理解变得复杂。