Chapter 9.  Pregnancy and Parenting

I.  Choosing whether to have children

1.      ethnic dif children per marriage: Latino 2.9, black 2.47, white 1.97.

2.      drop in fertility rate: 119 in 1960 to 66 per 1000 women in 1996.

3.      childlessness rate:@9% of  U.S. women b/ age 15-44 don’t plan to have children

4.      childless  v. “child-free:” latter connotes not having children needs no sympathy

a.       who choses?; women who are well-educ & career-oriented

b.      satisfaction:  many studies show >marital satis than couples w/ children

c.       divorce probability: >in child-free mar since “sake of children” not issue

d.      cost of child: (w/univ ed+lost wage):$762K (lower 1/3) to $2.78mil (>1/3)

II Being Pregnant

1.      decline: among all women <30yrs old;steepest among teens;remain higest in 20’s

2.      pregnancies resulting in births:  62%;22% in abortions; 16% stillbirths/miscarry

3.      abortion freq: among unmarried women, 50%

4.      race dif pregnancy:black report=desire for child,but 4.6 preg/fem v. 2.7 for white

a.       blacks: 39% pregs result in wanted births vs. 60% for Hisp and Anglo fem

5.      hazard if prev miscarriage:orgasm may cause uterine contraction&spontan abort

a.       when contract not harmful: if not prev miscar;if waters break labor begin

6.      embolism:  air bubble in bloodstream; careful not blow air in vagina during sex

7.      men’s anxieties: competence as provider not major souce; will be good dad?, etc.

8.      spont abort (miscar):¼ fem aware at least once;60% due to chromosome abnorm

a.       freq: one study found 1/3 of implanting embryos miscarried

b.      sign: vaginal bleeding or “spotting”;most occur b/ 6-8 wks of preg

c.       potential causes:  exposure high levels of electromagnetism/chems

9.      infant mortality: U.S. rate (6.33/1000 1995) higher than most dev wld (rank 20)

a.       inner city:approach nonindust countries;Wash,D.C.16.2/1000 highest U.S.

b.      most due to poverty due to discim: of more than 35000 under 1 who die

c.       prevention of 1/3: possible if adequate health care made available

d.      black rate: 14.0 is more than twice rate for whites of 6.2 in 1996

e.       France, Sweden, Japan: all pregnant women entitled to free prenatal care

f.        SIDS:sudden infant death syndrome kill healthy baby;don’t put on stomac

g.       Episiotomy:surgery enlarge vag opening by cut thru perineum toward anus

                                                             i.      Overused: 61%; 80% 1st vaginal births in hosps;1 midwife 1%

1.      Canadian study: no advantage in uncomplicated births

h.       Delivery table: instituted for convenience of physician; most cultures & in

 U.S. until 1900, birthing chairs, kneeling, or squatting;

10.  Couvade: from French to hatch or brood: in may cultures, man wraps his arms

around his belly and imitates wife having labor contractions; distracts evil spirits

a.       Huichol of Mexico: husband squatted above wife (rafters,branches);

when having contraction, wife pull on ropes attached to scrotum.

b.      Couvade syndrom: 1/5 men experience vomiting, nausea, abdomen pain

III. Becoming a Parent

     1. Postpartum period:3 mos after birth(“4th trimester”);crying,mood swings,confused

            B. physical aspects: hormone lev drops, blood loss, dehydration, lowered stamina

            C. lasts/men:gen couple weeks;some men get as well;overwhelm by change in rel

     2. Signifies:  adulthood;final, irreversible end of youthful roles;never can be ex-parent

     3. Stresses:for moms,multiple demands;1survey: 83% sometimes torn b/ family & job

5.      Marital Happiness: declines; >conflict for blacks and whites

a.       Avoidance behavior:may go up since ltd time& energy for conflict resolv

     6.  Intensive mothering ideology:moms (not dads) essential(expert,absorbed) caregiv

            A. contradiction: living up to standard dif for housewife; cause guilt in employed

            B. difficulty:  childless seen as “cold” and “unfulfilled”

            C. stay-at-home moms: will be seen by some as “useless” or “unproductive”

6.      Fathering:  nurturant behavior by a father toward his child;

7.      gender dif: dads more closely involved w/ sons than daughters;share activities not

feelings;may put daughter at disadvant since <opportune to  dev instrumental orien

a.      expressive model fathering:feminist ideology respons for shift in emhasis

b.      new nurturant father:does all:commun,teach,caregive,protect,share affect

c.       conduct fatherhood:hasn’t kept up w/ ideology;74%say should=,13%did

d.      bifurcation fatherhood:some shirk duty(bad),others expressive par(good)

e.      absence male parent model: unlike fem, since new role;w/ doubt anxiety

8.      Nuer of Sudan:groom’s fam give cattle to bride’s family;bride go to groom’s fam

a.       cattle transfer: gives husband right to wife’s children regardless bio dad

b.      adulterer: must pay cattle to wronged man;children belong to wife’s husb

c.       divorce: marriage cattle must be returned to husband’s family

d.      no divorce if 2 children+: wife go w/ lover; lover’s child belong husband

                                                             i.      adolescent go to pater home to marry: from bio dad who raise

e.       genitor v. pater: biological father v. legal and social father

f.        brother marry for deseased brother: using bro’s cattle;raise children

                                                             i.      genitor: is foster father to his own children;child of spirit marriage

g.       widow setting up house w/brother/other lover:child no belong to bio dad