Programme

Policing Pregnancy: Who should be a mother?

9.50am Welcome
10am – 11.00am Session 1: ‘Ideal pregnancies’ and the new family planning

  • The 1967 Abortion Act and the ‘problem pregnancy’. Professor Sally Sheldon, School of Law, University of Kent.
  • Constructing the ‘perfect pregnancy’ today. Dr Jennie Bristow, School of Psychology, Politics and Sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University.
  • Chair: Ann Furedi, Chief Executive, British Pregnancy Advisory Service.
11.00am – 11.15am Break
11.15am – 12.45 Session 2: Bad bodies, bad choices? Behavioural advice and the pregnant woman

  • Why take the risk? Governing pregnancy through maternal sacrifice. Dr Pam Lowe, School of Languages and Social Science, Aston University
  • Obesity, pregnancy, and ‘fat-shaming’. Clare Murphy, Director of External Affairs, BPAS
  • Alcohol abstinence advice and the manipulation of evidence. Dr Ellie Lee, SSPSSR, University of Kent
  • Supporting women who are pregnant and addicted to heroin: why specialist health and social care matters. Dr Sarah Christie, Research Centre for Children, Families and Communities, Canterbury Christ Church University
  • Chair: Dr Julia Carter, School of Psychology, Politics and Sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University.
12.45 – 1.30pm
 Lunch
1.30pm – 2.45pm Session 3: Pregnancy surveillance and the medical profession

  • Capturing the womb: Pregnancy surveillance in early twentieth-century Britain. Dr Salim Al-Gailani, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
  • The social implications of epigenetics. Sue White, Professor of Social Work, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield.
  • Respondents: Rebecca Schiller, Director, Birthrights
  • Chair: Dr Jan Macvarish, Centre for Parenting Culture Studies
2.45pm – 3.15pm Coffee
3.15pm – 4.30pm Session 4: Breastfeeding, guilt, and ideals of good motherhood

  • Breastfeeding across time and place: the construction of cultural norms. Dr Charlotte Faircloth, Department of Social Sciences, University of Roehampton.
  • The emotional and practical experiences of formula-feeding mothers. Victoria Fallon, School of Psychology, University of Liverpool
  • Am I harming my baby? The significance of the default in representations of infant feeding. Dr Fiona Woollard, Department of Philosophy, University of Southampton
  • Chair: Sarah Cant, School of Psychology, Politics and Sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University.
4.30pm – 4.45pm Closing remarks