The Making of Modern Motherhoods Project

The majority of women are having babies later, while a minority have children while still teenagers. As we enter the new millennium motherhood seems both to mark the end of childhood and the onset of middle age. So, what does 'motherhood' means to today's first time mothers? How has its meaning changed over the course of a generation? Could motherhood be a new site of social division or solidarity?

The aim of the study is to provide a picture of what it means to be a mother in the twenty first century. Using a combination of individual interviews and cultural analysis we will explore how contemporary women imagine motherhood and how the identity of mother sits with other identities such as 'worker', 'daughter', 'lover' and 'citizen'. We want to know how identities are made in practice, and the part played by advice books, magazines and also people such as friends, partners, professionals and relatives. How does the arrival of a new generation impact on the relationship between mothers and daughters, can we see boundaries, responsibilities, duties and identities realign?

The study is one part of an important programme of studies into Identities and Social Action. It will run between January 2005 - the end of 2007 and will involve 100 interviews with mothers in the UK, including 12 intergenerational case studies.

Two leaflets are available with information about the interviews (pdf) and case studies (pdf).

Making Modern Mothers by Rachel Thomson, Mary Jane Kehily, Lucy Hadfield and Sue Sharpe is published by The Policy Press on 22 June 2011 price £16.99. It can be ordered at 20% discount from their website.
The research team are proud to announce the release of a book which culminates this 5 year study of women who became mothers for the first time. The book explores what it means to be a mother now and how this experience may be different from their mothers and grandmothers. Becoming a mother has always been a profound moment of personal change which ties us the past, the future and to each other. This book makes an important and timely contribution to understanding motherhood in contemporary times as not one thing but many. The authors develop an analysis of motherhood as a changing identity, fragmented by women’s increased participation in work and education. Paying attention to women’s accounts of conception, birth and new motherhood, the authors document the intensity of the experience and the socio-economic differences that shapes women’s lives.