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Gestating bodies: sensing foetal movement in first-time pregnancy
1Centre for Population Health Sciences, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Sociology of Health & Illness
|September 2, 2018
Summary
Women
Area of Science:
- Sociology of the body
- Feminist studies
- Reproductive health
Background:
- Biomedical practices often overshadow women's lived experiences during pregnancy.
- Existing literature highlights the subjugation of embodied experiences in pregnancy.
- Sociocultural contexts significantly influence perceptions of pregnancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore women's subjective experiences of sensing initial fetal movement.
- To contrast these personal accounts with clinical and popular representations of fetal movement.
- To analyze the interplay between embodied sensations and sociocultural framings of pregnancy.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative interviews with 15 women in the UK.
- Analysis of personal accounts of sensing initial fetal movement.
- Focus on subjective and embodied aspects of pregnancy.
Main Results:
- Women describe initial fetal movement as ambiguous and indefinite.
- These uncertain sensations contrast with standardized clinical and popular depictions.
- Ambiguous experiences can contribute to anxiety within 'at risk' pregnancy narratives.
- Perceptions of fetal movement are intrinsically linked to social contexts.
Conclusions:
- Women's embodied experiences of fetal movement are valuable and socially embedded.
- Highlighting uncertainty destabilizes views of pregnant and fetal bodies as separate entities.
- Research informs sociological and feminist understandings of pregnancy and embodiment.
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