Maternal Materialism
Denise Bolds MSW,
CD(DONA)
February 18 2016
What is happening in society when it comes to marketing
pregnancy and maternity is a dependence on gadgets and concepts based on
capitalism. It is a billion dollar
business.
The prospective mother is given the
opportunity to shop with a ‘gun’ pointing to items she desires as part of her
baby registry. I’ve witnessed prospective moms have baby registries over 100 pages long. What is
happening to women and pregnancy when it comes to materialism and capitalism?
This buying frenzy is the result of apprehension, anxiety
and uncertainty. If the mother-to- be is provided with the proper
human-to-human support, she will learn to trust herself that she is capable of
taking care of her baby as well as have autonomy in her maternal experience.
Many women utilize baby registries once they find out
they’re pregnant. It is implied by society: the more material gadgets a
pregnant woman possesses, the better mother she should be. Many mothers-to-be
pick out their breast pump before
the baby is born, before she learns about breast-feeding or hand
expressing. It is often a misconception:
having a breast pump ensures breast-feeding success. What is not mentioned are
numerous women experiencing trauma using breast pumps as a result of rushed pumping,
not using a good match of pump or being poorly fitted.
Baby registries include gadgets that are supposed to help
the mother recover and recuperate: get her back to work within the six weeks of
her standard maternity benefit. The
market targets faster, better, easier with less thinking about what’s in front
of the mother (her baby) and more on how efficient she is.
Another newfangled must-have: a ‘Boppy’ pillow. New mothers
swear by these to help them breast-feed their babies. I have witnessed mothers have a meltdown if
she forgets her Boppy pillow at home. These pillows are often brought to the
birth. I’ve witnessed the same with mothers who forget breast pump attachments
at home; they are at work getting ready pump and they can’t. There isn’t any thought of hand expressing;
no thought of holding the baby with her own two arms. I have observed more
challenges of mothers attempting to breast-feed using the ‘Boppy’ pillow. The ‘Boppy’
makes moms sloppy = the mother’s posture curls around the baby and the pillow placing mother
and baby in misalignment; setting
them up for breast-feeding failure and trauma.
Items that is supposed to enhance mothers care of her
newborn baby actuality diminishes her ability of her using her critical
thinking as well as the use of her natural instinct. When a mother is so
occupied making sure she has all the gadgets and gizmos, resulting in her baby registry
being over 100 pages long; she is distracted from her body, her pregnancy and
her baby; her natural ability as a mother is devalued. Not to mention the
disposable debt incurred, resulting in the ‘birth’ of a new business: maternity
consignment shops.
A mother-to-be does not need a product gun and a hundred-page
baby registry to be a successful mother; she needs human-to-human support in
the form of childbirth education, lactation education, pregnancy and birth
options, a birth doula and a postpartum doula.
It is the woman who possesses consumer power in America. A pregnant woman who is soon to be a mother
does not need a ‘reward’; she requires representation, support, empowerment and
simplicity.
What is happening in society when it comes to marketing
pregnancy and maternity is a dependence on gadgets and concepts based on
capitalism. It is a billion dollar
business.
The prospective mother is given the
opportunity to shop with a ‘gun’ pointing to items she desires as part of her
baby registry. I’ve witnessed prospective moms have baby registries over 100 pages long. What is
happening to women and pregnancy when it comes to materialism and capitalism?
This buying frenzy is the result of apprehension, anxiety
and uncertainty. If the mother-to- be is provided with the proper
human-to-human support, she will learn to trust herself that she is capable of
taking care of her baby as well as have autonomy in her maternal experience.
Many women utilize baby registries once they find out
they’re pregnant. It is implied by society: the more material gadgets a
pregnant woman possesses, the better mother she should be. Many mothers-to-be
pick out their breast pump before
the baby is born, before she learns about breast-feeding or hand
expressing. It is often a misconception:
having a breast pump ensures breast-feeding success. What is not mentioned are
numerous women experiencing trauma using breast pumps as a result of rushed pumping,
not using a good match of pump or being poorly fitted.
Baby registries include gadgets that are supposed to help
the mother recover and recuperate: get her back to work within the six weeks of
her standard maternity benefit. The
market targets faster, better, easier with less thinking about what’s in front
of the mother (her baby) and more on how efficient she is.
Another newfangled must-have: a ‘Boppy’ pillow. New mothers
swear by these to help them breast-feed their babies. I have witnessed mothers have a meltdown if
she forgets her Boppy pillow at home. These pillows are often brought to the
birth. I’ve witnessed the same with mothers who forget breast pump attachments
at home; they are at work getting ready pump and they can’t. There isn’t any thought of hand expressing;
no thought of holding the baby with her own two arms. I have observed more
challenges of mothers attempting to breast-feed using the ‘Boppy’ pillow. The ‘Boppy’
makes moms sloppy = the mother’s posture curls around the baby and the pillow placing mother
and baby in misalignment; setting
them up for breast-feeding failure and trauma.
Items that is supposed to enhance mothers care of her
newborn baby actuality diminishes her ability of her using her critical
thinking as well as the use of her natural instinct. When a mother is so
occupied making sure she has all the gadgets and gizmos, resulting in her baby registry
being over 100 pages long; she is distracted from her body, her pregnancy and
her baby; her natural ability as a mother is devalued. Not to mention the
disposable debt incurred, resulting in the ‘birth’ of a new business: maternity
consignment shops.
A mother-to-be does not need a product gun and a hundred-page
baby registry to be a successful mother; she needs human-to-human support in
the form of childbirth education, lactation education, pregnancy and birth
options, a birth doula and a postpartum doula.
It is the woman who possesses consumer power in America. A pregnant woman who is soon to be a mother
does not need a ‘reward’; she requires representation, support, empowerment and
simplicity.
