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‘Gaining the right amount for my baby’: Young pregnant women's discursive constructions of health

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‘Gaining the right amount for my baby’: Young pregnant women's discursive constructions of health

Harper, Emma Amanda and Rail, Geneviève (2012) ‘Gaining the right amount for my baby’: Young pregnant women's discursive constructions of health. Health Sociology Review, 21 (1). pp. 69-81. ISSN 1446-1242

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/hesr.2012.21.1.69

Abstract

In Canada, obesity is increasingly emphasised as a ‘risk’ to the health of mother and foetus. At a time when pregnant women are under greater pressure to personally uphold the health of their foetus, understanding the impact of the discourse surrounding obesity and health on young pregnant women is critical. Using a feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis, we explore how pregnant young women construct their subjectivities either within dominant discourse on health and obesity or possibly resistant discourses. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 28, coming from various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds in the Ottawa region.

The analysis reveals that these women constitute themselves as complex, fragmented subjects who at times construct themselves within alternative and resistant discourses but generally reproduce dominant discourses of obesity, of individual and moral responsibility for health, and of maternal responsibility for foetal health. Implications for health promotion and policy strategies are discussed.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Simone de Beauvoir Institute
Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Authors:Harper, Emma Amanda and Rail, Geneviève
Journal or Publication:Health Sociology Review
Date:2012
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):10.5172/hesr.2012.21.1.69
ID Code:974910
Deposited By: ANDREA MURRAY
Deposited On:25 Oct 2012 20:49
Last Modified:18 Jan 2018 17:39
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