Academic literature on the topic 'Motherhood Australia'

AbstractWakita Haruko. Women in Medieval Japan: Motherhood, Household Management and Sexuality. Translated by Alison Tokita. Clayton, Australia: Monash Asia Institute and Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2006.

Abstract Using nationally representative Time Use Surveys from Australia, Korea, and Finland (n = 19,127 diaries) we examine how parenthood and the age of the youngest child are associated with the recuperative activities of leisure and sleep, the productive activities of market and nonmarket work, and with subjective time stress. Time stress differences by fatherhood are greatest for Finns and least for Koreans; time stress differences by motherhood are absent for Finns and high for Australians and Koreans. Results of the comparative analysis suggest that social policy and average national working hours produce different gendered gaps in both objective and subjective time stress among parents.

Studies on surrogate motherhood have mostly explored paid arrangements through the lens of a contract model, as clinical work or as a maternal identity-building project. Turning to the under-examined case of unpaid, so-called altruistic surrogate motherhood and based on an analysis of interviews with women who had been unpaid surrogate mothers in a full gestational surrogacy with a friend or relative in Canada, the United States or Australia, this article explores altruistic surrogate motherhood as relational work. It argues that this form of surrogate motherhood within close interpersonal relations can be conceptualised through the relational work involved in hosting a child for the intended parents. The article explores how relational work in this context implies an embodied, asymmetrical and far-reaching sense of responsibility that surrogate mothers describe as characteristic of their surrogacy experience. In this way, the article sheds light on feminist concerns about surrogacy as an embodied and objectifying work of women while at the same time illuminating how surrogate mothers respond to the intended parents in light of their pre-surrogacy relationship, how meanings are negotiated by them and how relationships are managed during the pregnancy.

The issue of surrogacy has attracted spirited and concerned public and professional debate. For some commentators even the term itself is considered a misnomer. In the midst of forceful opposition from feminists, churches, and groups concerned with preserving the “traditional family”, together with powerful support from sections of the medical establishment, certain academics and other high profile individuals, the future of surrogacy in Australia is uncertain. What is certain is that surrogacy challenges people's ideas about acceptable means of family formation both on a personal moral level and from the broader perspective of public policy.

In this article we examine gender gaps in poverty in the United States and seven other Western nations, asking how single motherhood, market earnings, and welfare states affect gender inequality in poverty. Our analyses speak to the theoretical literature emphasizing the gendered logic and effects of welfare states and labor markets. We find that single-mother families have higher poverty rates than other families in all nations except Sweden, though the degree of their poverty varies. Regarding welfare states, we find that the tax and transfer systems in Sweden and the Netherlands most effectively reduce gender inequality in poverty. Gender inequality in market earnings is worst in the Netherlands and Australia, though among full-time workers, Australia has the lowest gender gap. We conclude by discussing the policy issues raised by our findings.

This thesis challenges our ideas of what motherhood and ‘career’ means. Investigating contemporary motherhood practice, it reveals how for many educated Australian mothers, regardless of paid work engagement, motherhood is a skilled and meaningful ‘job’ and a ‘career’ in itself. The study contributes the notion of motherhood as a protean career to career theory by demonstrating how educated mothers experience motherhood over six stages – Starting Strong, Shifting Ground, Digging Deep, Aiming High, Learning Lots and Taking Stock. Motherhood as a protean career can fundamentally reshape how organisations, society and mothers themselves perceive and value the work and experience of motherhood.

Australia has a lower teenage fertility rate than other industrialised English-speaking countries. However, with over 11,000 births and 12,000 abortions to teenagers each year, the resolution of teenage pregnancy is an issue faced by many young Australian women. ¶ This research seeks to explore the factors that discriminate between those who terminate and those who continue a teenage pregnancy. To achieve this aim a survey was conducted on young ever-pregnant women throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The survey sought information on young women’s characteristics on three different levels: individual; institutional; and societal or cultural. ¶ The findings suggest that, at each of the three levels proposed, there are factors that discriminate between young women who choose abortion and those who choose motherhood. At the individual level, attitudes to abortion and career aspirations were found to affect pregnancy resolution. At the institutional level factors relating to education, family, relationships and religion were found to discriminate between the two groups. Finally, at the cultural level, ethnicity and area of residence were found to be associated with pregnancy resolution, in addition to modifying the effect of characteristics at other levels.

A qualitative study was conducted to explore the expectations, anxieties and emotional impact of eight women having their first child after the age of 37 years. The design used semi-structured interviews to collect data in two phases. The first were conducled when participants were in their third trimester of pregnancy (26+ wecks). The second phase was conducted four to six months post-birth. The rationale for the study was that despite the continuing trend for delayed motherhood (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002), research on the experience of'late' motherhood is extremely limited. Women are choosing to delay motherhood for many reasons, including the need to feel emotionally prepared, finding the right partner, or after years of career success and having achieved financial stability. However, the 'biological clock' may compel women to have a child simply because timc is running out. Rapid advanccs in fertility treatment and improved levels of obstetric care have extended the opportunities for childbearing, to the extent that women are having babies up to the time of menopause, which commonly begins in the late forties (Sowers, 2000). Risks associated with 'late' babies include hypertension (Mirowsky); anxiety (Windridge & Benyman, 1999), and foetal abnormality (Benke, Carver, & Donahue, 1995). In addition, women may feel unprepared for motherhood or may experience ambivalence about their decision after many years of career development and settled lifestyle (Heckhausen, Wrosh, & Fleeson, 200I). 'Elderly primigravidae,' as they are referred to, are deemed 'high risk' by the medical profession (Mirowsky, 2002) therefore women may be expos cd to a 'culture of anxiety' surrounding their choice to have a child at what is thc beginning of the midlife phase.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, Department of Modern History, 2003.
Bibliography: p. 417-478.
Introduction: breeding and feeding -- The medical man: sex, science and society -- Confined: women and obstetrics 1880-1899 -- The kindest cut? The caesarean section as turning point -- Reproduction in decline -- Resisting reproduction: women, doctors and abortion -- From obstetrics to paediatrics: the rise of the child -- The breast was best: medicine and maternal breastfeeding -- The deadly bottle and the dangers of the wet nurse: the "artificial" feeding of infants -- Surveillance and the mother -- Mothers and medicine: paradigms of continuity and change.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw profound changes in Australian attitudes towards maternity. Imbibed with discourses of pronatalism and eugenics, the production of infants became increasingly important to society and the state. Discourses proliferated on "breeding", and while it appeared maternity was exulted, the child, not the mother, was of ultimate interest. -- This thesis will examine the ways wider discourses of population impacted on childbearing, and very specifically the ways discussions of the nation impacted on medicine. Despite its apparent objectivity, medical science both absorbed and created pronatalism. Within medical ideology, where once the mother had been the point of interest, the primary focus of medical care, increasingly medical science focussed on the life of the infant, who was now all the more precious in the role of new life for the nation. -- While all childbirth and child-rearing advice was formed and mediated by such rhetoric, this thesis will examine certain key issues, including the rise of the caesarean section, the development of paediatrics and the turn to antenatal care. These turning points can be read as signifiers of attitudes towards women and the maternal body, and provide critical material for a reading of the complexities of representations of mothers in medical discourse.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
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This study explores the Jived experience of a group of women, geographically isolated from their extended family, as they establish their new support networks. It is based on the assumption that the shape and structure of families are constantly changing and evolving and this change in family structure impacts on both the parents and the children. One of the significant changes families are experiencing is the increasing isolation of the nuclear family from traditional family networks. It is the purpose of this study to explore the experience of this group of women to identify how the members establish their support networks. It determines the process they used in developing these networks and discovers the essential elements which contributed to the formation of new networks. The women participating in the study have all moved to Western Australia and as a result are isolated from their extended family. They all have at least one pre school aged child, speak English and have been involved in a self-help group for families separated from their extended family. A phenomenological approach was adopted to explore how this specific group of women in this situation has established their new support networks. The aim is to explore this phenomenon from the participant's perspective. A small sample of participants was selected from the self-help group with the help of a key informant. The data were collected over an extended period using in depth interviews. Each interview was transcribed and analysed for themes and concepts. These were taken back to the participants for verification. The findings have been reported using the narrative style as this is a style that fits comfortably with women. The narratives were verified by the individual participants as a true account of their experience. The themes extracted from all the participants are also reported and verified by the individual participants. The themes answer the questions of how these women establish their networks and what influences and affects the formation of these new networks. This study has implications for both policy and practice. It identifies areas where policy needs to be reviewed in order for additional funding to be provided to current health services so that they can continue with current services and expand these. Other services need to provide alternate models in order to meet the needs of various clientele. Services need to become more responsive to the community in order to meet their current needs. Additionally, some new and alternate services could be explored in order to meet the needs of this particular group. The need for further research has been highlighted by this study in the area of NESB migrants and their establishment of new networks, mothers of older school age children and those in full time employment trying to establish networks. In general the role of women in establishing networks within families still needs further researching. This study has identified some important factors in the establishment of networks by mothers of pre-school children, who are geographically isolated from their extended family.

This study explored the experience of mature age female students with dependent children at one regional university campus in Western Australia, Edith Cowan University South West (ECUSW). These students are one of many student groups whose experience differs to that of more traditional students such as young, unmarried, and well-supported school-leaver students. Although all students enter university with experiences that make them valuable to the university institution, mature age female students with dependent children enter university with unique knowledge, experiences and attitudes making them potentially valuable contributors to their own and others’ learning (Martins & Anthony, 2007). Whilst at university, these students often face unique challenges in balancing their time and energy between their multiple roles (White, 2008). The timing of this study was important in response to the Bradley Report (Bradley, 2008) which was released in 2008, which stemmed from a review of Higher Education in Australia. This report recommended national targets of at least 40% of 25 to 34 year olds are to have a bachelor level qualification or higher by 2020 (Bradley, 2008). The Bradley report also recommended an increase in enrolments of non-traditional students, including those with a low socio-economic status (SES) and those residing in regional areas. Research focusing on these students is essential as the actual experience of these non-traditional students, mature age female students with dependent children, and their specific needs is significantly under-researched. Thus, the purpose of this study was to add to the existing and emerging body of knowledge related to the population of interest to inform, guide and improve decisions relating to future Australian mature age female university students with dependent children. The methodology guiding this study was Interpretive Description, a second-generation qualitative methodology whose ancestry lies in phenomenology, ethnography and grounded theory. The purpose of this methodology, which was developed by Thorne, Reimer-Kirkham and MacDonald-Emes (1997), is to guide the researcher in the exploration of the experiences of multiple participants in a particular social setting, such as attending university. The methodology facilitates the creation of a conceptual description capturing the themes and patterns conveyed by the participants (Thorne, 2008). Data were collected from 32 participants who were involved in this study, with 21 participating in individual interviews and 11 participating in one of three mini-focus groups. Each of these 32 participants also completed the same 20-question demographic questionnaire. These methods supported the analysis of the participants’ experience, resulting in a multi-layered conceptual description. The foundational layer of the conceptual description illustrates two complex and interrelated themes of expectations and management. The expectations theme included three aspects; students’ academic expectations, expectations of the overall university experience and their expectations of time. The management theme included five aspects; students’ management of time, family, well-being, money and other significant external factors. The interpretive analysis of these themes identified three protective coping concepts and one central concept forming the conceptual layers. The three protective coping concepts included having access to, and receiving appropriate support from others; sacrifices which were required or made by the student and others; and students’ individual perception of their own university experience. Central to these protective coping concepts was the concept of “motherhood first” that was identified by the students as their primary social role, and that this role took precedence over other social roles, and influenced all aspects of their experience. This conceptual description synthesised the experience of mature age female students with dependent children who were studying at ECUSW, aligning with similar concepts highlighted for students with dependent children in existing literature (Estes, 2011; Marandet & Wainwright, 2010; White, 2008).

There is an abundance of books available on the topic of motherhood and mothering; the majority of these books focus on the vulnerability of babies and young children and the motherwork such vulnerability demands. In particular they focus on what it is right to do in the interests of the child, and particularly his or her growth and development. Such a focus is consistent in Western culture with modern moral frameworks where understandings of goodness have been assimilated to dimensions of human action rather than dimensions of human being, selfhood, or specific forms of life. As Charles Taylor has observed, much modern moral philosophy has focused =on what it is right to do rather than the nature of the good life‘ (1989, 13). The master narratives of motherhood and the prevailing social discourses of intensive1 and sacrificial2 mothering exemplify this view as such narratives and discourses depict =what mothers are expected to do [and] how mothers are supposed to be‘ (Nelson 2001, 140). From such infant/child-focused accounts a canonical maternal identity can be discerned; arguably, it is a restricted one. The majority of these books fail to address questions related to what it means be a mother in particular situated, existing, living realities. For instance, ask a mother with young children what being a mother means to her and she may speak of the challenges she faces balancing paid employment and her role as a mother, or the impact of the demands being made on her time and energy. However, ask a mother with young adult-children3 what being a mother means to her and she may speak in similar tones, but she may also speak in differing tones. For example, a "mature" mother may speak of the "empty nest", the "crowded house" and/or "its revolving front door". She may speak of issues related to the vulnerability of the long term marriage, elder care, or grandparenting, or even disillusionment and disenchantment. The purpose of this research is to explore the identity challenges and prospects of some mothers with young adult-children aged between 18 and 30 years of age in twenty-first century Australia. In interpreting the identity challenges and prospects this particular cohort of mothers encounter in their ordinary, everyday living, a diverse and particular range of maternal experiences.my own included5.have been traced, along with the social and ethical meanings ascribed in them. With an understanding and appreciation of voice as the medium which connects one's inner and outer worlds, this research illuminates the plurality of voices and the multiple layers of meaning in each of these mother's particular living and existing realities. Specifically, this research addresses the narrowly constructed, canonical maternal identity through a critical exploration and reflection on stories, shared in a research context, of the living realities of a group of self-identified "mature", middle-class, Australian mothers with children aged between 18 and 30 years of age6. By appraising the broader familial, historical, social, cultural, institutional, and, importantly, moral contexts in which these mothers are situated, 'thick descriptions' (Geertz 1973, 27)7 of maternal identities, and the challenges and prospects these mothers are negotiating, are provided. In terms of its ethical orientation, the frameworks which support and frame this research reject, repudiate and contest (Nelson 2001) the reduction of ethical concerns to individual or intellectual problems or dilemmas to be solved through the application of a theory derived from reasoned thinking. In dismissing deductive and =theoretical-juridical‘8 approaches, the individualistic orientation entrenched in contemporary Western moral thinking, expressed in the notion of '"what ought I to do" when faced with a problem, issue or dilemma of practical urgency' (Isaacs & Massey 1994, 1), is simultaneously rejected, repudiated and contested (Nelson 2001). In countering such understandings, this research reorients us to the illumination and articulation of who it is good to be, for each of these mothers, in allegiance with those goods which guide and inspire her orientations towards living a good life—a life which embraces and enhances the flourishing of herself and her significant others. With an understanding and appreciation that 'mind is never free of precommitment[—t]here is no innocent eye, nor is there one that penetrates aboriginal reality' (Bruner 1987, 32), this thesis is written with the voices of other interlocutors9. These interlocutors include the voices of my research participants whom I refer to as "research interlocutors", my textual "friends" — those scholars whose work resonates strongly with my orientations—as well as the myriad other voices that speak to mothers, for mothers and about mothers, such as those found in popular and mainstream press and culture. Sometimes these voices resonate; other times dissonance may be heard. In situating this research within these complementary frameworks, this research invites readers to join with me in considering, appreciating and appraising the narrow construction of maternal identity. I seek for this engagement, like the engagements with my research interlocutors, to be 'a meeting of voices, an authentic dialogue that is inclusive of the voices of all concerned participants' (Isaacs 2001, 6). I hope that the voices in this thesis resonate with yours (although, at times, you may feel some dissonance) and that together we can draw closer to the accounting, re-counting and re-stor(y)ing of maternal identities; like concentric circles of witness, the dialogue, ...will thus be expanded rippling into corners where one might both imagine, and least expect. Possibilities, then, are vast; the future exciting (Smith 2007, 397). This research is also shaped and guided by maternal scholarship, a relatively new field of inquiry known as 'motherhood studies' (O'Reilly 2011, xvii) which has its origins within the broader terrain of feminist scholarship. As a work of maternal scholarship, this thesis draws upon and continues the tradition of examining motherhood as it is experienced 'in a social context, as embedded in a political institution: in feminist terms' (Rich 1995, ix). It values mothers, their experiences, their stories, their lives. As such, this research is oriented towards 'matricentric feminism', a particular form of feminist inquiry, politics and theory which is consistent with and receptive to feminist frameworks of care and equal rights (O‘Reilly 2011, 25). A number of complementary conceptual frameworks have been engaged in this research with the thesis presented in three parts: the pre-figurative, configurative and re-configurative. As my particular living experiences provided the initial motivation for this research, an account of the challenges I experienced as a mother with young adult-children are outlined as a Prelude to this thesis. Attention then turns to Part One – Pre-figuring Maternal Identities in which the contextual, conceptual and methodological foundations underpinning this research are explored and outlined. In Chapter One, the prevailing cultural narratives and social discourses supporting and shaping the construction of the canonical maternal identity are outlined. Next, in setting the scholarly context, the critiques — arising from feminist and maternal scholarship — of motherhood as a patriarchal institution, mothering as experience, and mothering as work, are explored. As this research engaged with participants who are embedded in particular middle-class, heterosexual, familial and cultural structures, an exploration of family life cycle theory and main stream media accounts are also incorporated. The terrain in which "mature" mothering within an Australian context is experienced is also outlined, including the notions of "empty nests" and "crowded houses", grandparenting, elder care and women's midlife transition. Chapter Two gives an account of the conceptual ontological, ethical, identity and narrative frameworks underpinning this research. In setting the context for rich interpretations, the characteristics of being human10 are outlined before attention turns to our embodiment and embeddedness in our shared human condition11. From this point, attention then turns to understanding the moral form of human living12. In appreciating the vulnerability inherent in our shared human condition, the ways in which we may experience trouble in our lives is noted. The framing of identity constitution13 as complex, multi-faceted, relationally negotiated and composed is then outlined, followed by an understanding of why narrative is a valuable interpretive tool for interpreting and understanding human experiences. This chapter concludes with an appreciation of the ethical significance of storytelling. The research methodology is then outlined in Chapter Three. The rationale underpinning the adoption of the narrative interviewing technique of in-depth interviewing is explored. In exploring these methodological frameworks, the recruitment and interview processes involved in gathering and interpreting the recorded transcripts of ten Australian mothers with young adult-children are outlined. The method of analysis known as the Listening Guide14 best complements the multi-layered, pluri-vocal nature of narrative accounting. The final section of Chapter Three outlines The Guide, with one mother's recorded transcript used to illustrate this method's step-by-step process. Having gathered an understanding and appreciation of the pluri-vocal, multi-layered nature of narrative and identity constitution, the tone of this thesis changes in Part Two . Configuring Maternal Identities. This section consists of Chapters Four and Five and seeks to find meaning in, and make sense of, the differences and commonalities across these particular accounts. Chapter Four explores the living realities of four Australian mothers with young adult-children: Poppy, Honey, Lily and Heather. In presenting a thick description of these mothers' situated realities, the frameworks.the familial, social, cultural, historical and institutional backgrounds.which have supported and shaped each mother's experiences are illuminated. Simultaneously revealed through these particular accounts are the plurality of goods focusing and moving each mother to the moral form of life, a life of meaning and purpose. The harms challenging some mothers' moral motivations are also revealed in this chapter. Specifically illustrated in Chapter Four are the unique and qualitative differences of particular maternal identity configurations. Chapter Five reveals the commonalities amongst all of the research interlocutors' accounts. This chapter contests the individualistic orientation of many contemporary accounts of motherhood which are aimed at defining or contesting what a "good" mother ought to do. By turning away from such individualistic orientations, the chapter does not seek to define 'the content of obligation' (Taylor 1989, 3) but rather seeks to illuminate and articulate a richer, deeper understanding and appreciation of maternal be-ing and be-coming - that is, who it is good to be, for each of these mothers - in allegiance with those goods that focus and inspire her moral motivations. Part Three - Re-Configuring Maternal Identities, which is comprised of Chapter Six, draws this thesis to a close. In this final chapter, the preconceptions, conditions and aspirations for this mother-centred account of the living realities of a small, local cohort of mothers are reiterated. The insights gathered from the rich, descriptive accounts are illuminated and articulated, and the chapter closes with some suggestions for future research. In a Postlude, I reflect on how this research has been a transformative learning experience in my own life.an experience in which I have been able to not only deeply understand and appreciate the challenges and disorientation I was experiencing but also to identify and reorient my stance in relation to the good. In a practical sense, by offering thick descriptions of the living realities of this cohort of "mature" mothers, this research challenges the canonical maternal identity and questions its relevance for, and effect on, "mature" mothers' identity constitution. By bringing to light the complex existing realities of these particular mothers, this research critiques the canonical maternal identity by illustrating that each mother's life and her identity constitutions are complex, relationally negotiated and composed and that motherhood is an enduring way of being. Through these illustrations, this research engages with and extends understandings of difference feminism. This research, however, not only rejects, repudiates and contests (Nelson 2001) the narrowly defined canonical maternal identity. By illuminating and articulating the goods which shape and inspire these "mature" mothers' motherwork, this research offers a matricentric account which is consistent with and respectful of the particular, situated realities—the broader familial, social, institutional, but most importantly, moral values and frameworks—in which each mother‘s life is embedded and her motherwork oriented. By understanding and appreciating the complex and multiple webs of relationships in which each mother exists, this matricentric re-stor(y)ing of maternal experiences not only understands and appreciates the unique nature of each mother‘s existing realities, it is oriented to the continuing enhancing of the shared pursuit of the good which underpins particular maternal practices and particular maternal ways of being.

Feminist and social historians have long been interested in that particularly female ability to become pregnant and bear children. A significant body of historiography has challenged the notion that pregnancy and childbirth considered to be the acceptable and 'appropriate' roles for women for most of the twentieth century in Australia - have always been welcomed, rewarding and always fulfilling events in women's lives. Several historians have also begun the process of enlarging our knowledge of the changing cultural attitudes towards bereavement in Australia and the eschewing of the public expression of sorrow following the two World Wars; a significant contribution to scholarship which underscores the changing attitudes towards perinatal loss. It is estimated that one in four women lose a pregnancy to miscarriage, and two in one hundred late pregnancies result in stillbirth in contemporary Australia. Miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death are today considered by psychologists and social workers, amongst others, as potentially significant events in many women's lives, yet have received little or passing attention in historical scholarship concerned with pregnancy and motherhood. As such, this study focuses on pregnancy loss: the meaning it has been given by various groups at different times in Australia's past, and how some Australian women have made sense of their own experience of miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death within particular social and historical contexts. Pregnancy loss has been understood in a range of ways by different groups over the past 100 years. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when alarm was mounting over the declining birth rate, pregnancy loss was termed 'foetal wastage' by eugenicists and medical practitioners, and was seen in abstract terms as the loss of necessary future Australian citizens. By the 1970s, however, with the advent of support groups such as SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support) miscarriage and stillbirth were increasingly seen as the devastating loss of an individual baby, while the mother was seen as someone in need of emotional and other support. With the advent of new prenatal screening technologies in the late twentieth century, there has been a return of the idea of maternal responsibility for producing a 'successful' outcome. This project seeks to critically examines the wide range of socially constructed meanings of pregnancy loss and interrogate the arguments of those groups, such as the medical profession, religious and support groups, participating in these constructions. It will build on existing histories of motherhood, childbirth and pregnancy in Australia and, therefore, also the history of Australian women.

Using a qualitative approach, utilising a semi-structured narrative interviewing technique, I interviewed 21 participants through one-on-one interviews and focus groups to examine how participants experience parenting and playgroup. The good mother syndrome refers to the social, historical and cultural determination of how mothers are supposed to act. It defines what a good mother is supposed to be, subject to political, cultural and economic influences. Further, the good mother syndrome is inextricably linked to challenges to identity, support in the mothering role, and expectations of motherhood. Playgroups are communities of women bounded by internal and external demands, where they support each other via a vehicle that encompasses their children. Playgroups, as part of holistic family services, are important in building social capital. This study asked several questions. Firstly, it investigated the mothering experience in Western Australia in the 21st century. Secondly, this study asked whether the challenge to identity is more salient to first time mothers, and how this is affected by the good mother syndrome. Next, it asked why families attend playgroup, from a mother's perspective. Further, it asked whether mothers are faced with the good mother syndrome at playgroup, and investigated the role that playgroup plays in strengthening or challenging the good mother syndrome. I conducted 11 one-on-one interviews with mothers that attended playgroup in the Perth metropolitan area, and two focus groups, each with five participants, at two different Perth playgroups. This study found that women find the role as mothers a challenging, yet positive experience. Further, it found that challenges to identity were salient with the birth of he first child, and that these challenges were consolidated with the birth of subsequent children, only easing as the youngest child got older. The women in this study reported that they attend playgroup to develop a sense of belonging, to seek validation in the mothering experience and to claim and exercise expertise. Further, whether the good mother syndrome was challenged or strengthened by playgroup amongst these women depended on group dynamics within the playgroup session, the stage of parenting, and socioeconomic factors. Generally speaking, women can identify what is a 'good' mother and what is a 'bad' mother, but they do not understand the 'good mother syndrome' as an abstract concept. Playgroup, as a community-based Australia-wide program, needs to be recognised as an important contributor to the well-being of families with young children, and, as such, requires ongoing government support.

Although the position of mothers has changed considerably since the beginning of the twentieth century, an idealised notion of motherhood persists. The cinema provides a source of information about attitudes towards mothering in Australian society which is not diminished by the fact that mothers are often marginal to the narrative. While the study recognises that cinematic images are not unconditionally authoritative, it rests on the belief that films have some capacity to reflect and influence society. The films are placed in an historical context with regard to social change in Australian society, so that the images can be understood within the context of the time of the making and viewing of the films. The depictions of the mother are scrutinised with regard to her appearance, her attitude, her relationship with others and the expectations, whether explicit or implicit, of her role. Of particular significance is what happens to her during the film and whether she is punished or rewarded for her behaviour. The conclusions reached after analysis are used to challenge those ideas which assume that portrayals of motherhood are unchangeable and timeless. The study examines Australian feature films from 1900 to 1988. To augment its historical focus, it uses sociological, psychoanalytical and feminist theoretical writing with special relevance for motherhood and mothering practice. Looking at areas of importance to mothers, it comprises an exploration of what makes a mother good or bad; the significance of the birth of female and male children; the relationship of mothers to daughters; the mother's sexuality and the metaphor of the missing mother. It shows that images of motherhood on screen are organised according to political, social and economic requirements in the community. Further, films frequently show mothers in traditional roles which are useful for maintaining notions of patriarchal privilege in society. The analysis exposes stereotypical depictions of motherhood which are often inaccurate, unfair and oppressive to women.

The aim of this chapter is to examine young women’s experience of mental health problems during the perinatal period. We shall argue that women who were young at the time of their transition to parenthood are at elevated risk for perinatal depression, in their first and subsequent pregnancies. Evidence for the impact of perinatal depression on children’s development will be outlined, and we propose that the elevated rates of mental health problems among young mothers may partly account for the increased prevalence of adverse outcomes often seen among their children. However, for these young women and their offspring, the impact of perinatal depression may be compounded by many other social, psychological, and biological risk factors, and young women’s circumstances may exacerbate their own and their children’s difficulties. Therefore any clinical strategies regarding the identification and treatment of depression during the antenatal and postnatal months may need to take into account the age of women, with women bearing children earlier and later than the average presenting different challenges for health professionals. Across the industrialized nations the demographics of parenthood are changing, with both men and women first becoming parents at increasingly older ages (Bosch 1998; Martin et al. 2005; Ventura et al. 2001). In the UK for example, the average maternal age at first birth in 1971 was 23.7 years, compared to the present figure of 29.5 years (ONS 2012). Correspondingly, over the last four decades, birth rates for women aged 30 and over have increased extensively, whilst those for women in their teenage years and early twenties have declined (ONS 2012, 2007). Since the 1970s, the proportion of children born to women aged 20–24 in the UK has been decreasing, with women aged 30–34 years now displaying the highest birth rates (ONS 2010). These changes in the demography of parenthood are not confined to the UK with similar trends toward delayed first births observed across Western Europe (Ventura et al. 2001), the United States (Mirowsky 2002), New Zealand (Woodward et al. 2006) and Australia (Barnes 2003). Thus, a transition to parenthood during adolescence and the early 20s is non-normative for Western women, and the implications of this ‘off-time’ transition (Elder 1997, 1998) for the mother’s and the child’s mental health warrants attention.