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Pregnancy and Working: A Critical Reading of Advice and Information on Pregnancy and Employment

Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, H.Gross{at}lboro.ac.uk

Helen Pattison

Birmingham University Medical School, Department of Primary Care and General Practice, H.M.Pattison{at}bham.ac.uk

As more women remain in paid employment during pregnancy, women's public role as worker is enacted in parallel with the transition to the private role of mother. Cultural resources, such as books, magazines and other literature, may support this transition and help to identify the expectations of new and changing roles. Information and advice about working contained in such publications may also be implicated in the continuation of public and private beliefs about pregnancy and employment. Investigation of the representations of work in literature available to pregnant women suggests several topics with-in which material on working can occur; these are health, rights, and work and home. This coverage is discussed in relation to the different discourses of pregnancy, particularly a discourse of responsibility, and how these may position women as workers or mothers.

Key Words: beliefs • employment • pregnancy • responsibilities

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