'Seeing the baby': pleasures and dilemmas of ultrasound technologies for primiparous Australian women
An interesting report of a study into the pleasures and dilemmas associated with the way that ultrasound has become a part of the embodied experiences of pregnant women. The paper reminds us that women are increasingly taking responsibility for a successful outcome for their pregnancies in a gendered experience which has been socially constructed as inherently 'risky' in contemporary Australian society.
http://ogma.newcastle.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1913
My personal view is that women are under enormous pressure to produce the 'perfect' baby.
The tension that women feel as they wait to 'pass' the various tests, including ultrasound, has made pregnancy into an increasingly stress filled time.
The burgeoning list of 'tests' provide a series of challenges for women, the essence of which remind me of the trials and tribulations the heroes of ancient Greek and Roman mythology had to endure, to 'prove' they were capable and worthy of living. For childbearing women, the successful negotiation of the labyrinth or the attainment of the golden fleece means worthy for motherhood.
