Mothers Making Meaning: An Exploration of Contemporary Ritual Practices Surrounding Childbirth
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Abstract
Many contemporary American women undergo one of the most intense identity shifts of their lives—becoming a mother—without prescribed ritual resources to navigate that transition. Lacking a common cultural script to follow, these women are inventing their own rites of passage, drawing from various times, places, and traditions to craft intimate ways of infusing this time with attention, meaning, and a sense of the sacred. This dissertation draws data from personal interviews, ethnographic observations, and written accounts to understand the motivations and experiences of these ritual participants and the consequences of their creative work for birthing people more broadly. The first chapter addresses the assumption of a dearth of contemporary ritual surrounding childbirth in the United States and introduces the ritual theorists whose work will frame the study. The second chapter explores ceremonies intended to “bless the way” of the mother-to-be, to root her in her own wisdom and in the love and care of a community of women. The third chapter traces the history of placentophagy, the act of consuming the placenta following childbirth, and looks at ways contemporary women are incorporating that practice to ward off postpartum depression and to honor their bodies and their embodied experience. The fourth chapter explores birth storytelling as it happens for a variety of motivations and with a variety of audiences. The conclusion ties together common threads between the three practices and proposes that participants in ceremony, placentophagy, and storytelling are all engaged in both personal and collaborative acts of self-construction. The three rituals each in unique ways also contribute to the production of a matrilineage, which, in many cases, becomes central to the birthing person’s experience and understanding of herself.
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How are mothers made? -- Ceremony: ingredients for blessing the way -- Consumption: practices for nourishing body and spirit -- Storytelling: tools for creating community and change -- Giving time, place, and voice to what matters
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Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)