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

在维多利亚晚期和爱德华七世时期的英国，怀孕经历深受妇女阶级地位的影响。在人口焦虑中，怀孕是女性期望的首要因素，然而阶级特权和偏见是不屈服的。在这些交叉点上，出现了对怀孕的不同做法和理解。家庭和经济压力使工人阶级妇女别无选择，只能在怀孕期间不知疲倦地工作，使她们精疲力竭，生病，营养不良。直到1911年发放了少量的生育津贴，这些妇女才得到任何支持——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完全不同。有了产前医疗护理，这些孕妇的特点是休息、温和运动和量身定制的饮食，以优化母亲和婴儿的健康。这些鲜明的对比揭示了阶级在这一时期对女性的强大话语影响。不同阶层的女性对怀孕的做法和期望不同，但不同阶层的女性对怀孕的概念又有什么不同呢？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特殊心理和身体体验中表现出来的？通过承认孕妇是历史的代理人，并赋予她们的视角以特权，对她们自传的分析可以回答这些问题。将这一分析与残疾史学相结合，可以发现所有阶层的女性都认为自己怀孕后的身体是残疾的。过度劳累常常使工人阶级妇女在怀孕期间丧失劳动能力，使她们无法履行对家庭的责任。与此同时，健康建议文献要求上流社会的孕妇休息和隔离。残疾理论阐明了阶级特定经历所产生的共同情绪，使我们对这一时期怀孕的理解复杂化。

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.