Pregnancy and Motherhood
pregnancy and motherhood are
familiar through both time and space.
The following books explore some of the
ways in which pregnancy and motherhood
have been experienced in the Western
world from 1800 to the present.
However, this exploration is necessarily only
a small sampling of women’s myriad experiences, as
each individual’s journey is necessarily different and cul-
tural identity can change a woman’s experience exponentially.
Miscarriages and stillbirths have plagued women throughout history, as
has the pain of losing a child after days, months, years, or even decades.
Slavery has separated innumerable families and infertility is a devastat-
ing reality for many that has long been silenced. Still, for many women,
pregnancy is a time of joy and worry and fulfillment. Motherhood is
never straightforward, but it is often beautiful. Oftentimes, new
generations rely on the ones that came before for wisdom and
advice, binding women together in unique ways.