WOMEN, PREGNANCY, AND HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE: The Making of Informed Patients and Ideal Mothers

While the Internet has emerged as a significant resource for women negotiating the questions and circumstances that arise during conception, pregnancy and childbirth, it remains unclear what role the Internet plays in challenging the current biomedical paradigm and empowering women to make meaningfu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gender & society 2012-10, Vol.26 (5), p.773-798
Main Authors: SONG, FELICIA WU, WEST, JENNIFER ELLIS, LUNDY, LISA, DAHMEN, NICOLE SMITH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to information
Childbirth
Doctor patient relationships
Doctor-patient relationship
Female fertility
Females
Health
Health information
Internet
Medical Model
Middle class
Motherhood
Mothers
Obstetric labor complications
Online information services
Patients
Physician patient relationships
Pregnancy
Sick Role
Technology adoption
Women
Women's health
Womens health
Working Women
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Summary:While the Internet has emerged as a significant resource for women negotiating the questions and circumstances that arise during conception, pregnancy and childbirth, it remains unclear what role the Internet plays in challenging the current biomedical paradigm and empowering women to make meaningful choices. This article explores how women use the Internet to manage their pregnancies and mediate their doctor-patient relationships, particularly examining the role of social class and personal health history in shaping such Internet use. Drawing from in-depth interviews with white middle-class mothers, the findings show that rather than using technology to resist the dominant biomedical paradigm, most women turned to online resources that affirmed mainstream medical authority and continued to rely on their doctors. By providing the means to confirm normalcy and take control in their reproductive experiences, the Internet enables socially privileged women to more fully perform the informed patient role in order to demonstrate their competence as mothers.
ISSN:0891-2432
1552-3977
DOI:10.1177/0891243212446336