Difference between revisions of "328 2010--Week 8 Questions/Comments"
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I thought the first letter was interesting because Mrs. W. M. wants pamphlets from the Childrens Bureau for her new pregnancy despite already having three boys. I was curious as to why such a woman would be interested in this information since she has already experienced pregnancy, birth and raising children. Her eagerness for new information makes it clear that despite any preexisting knowledge, there were women that were curious and very interested in the Bureau's pamphlets. Beforehand, pregnancy had either been a private topic or restricted to local women. This is evident in the second letter, where Mrs. A. E. is clearly experiencing cravings, but has no idea what is going on. Since she wants the Bureau to read and respond to her letter confidentially, I would assume she had not discussed her cravings with other women. Despite a majority of women experiencing pregnancy, I think that the letters show just how few women went around talking about and sharing their experiences like pregnant women do today. Thus, I believe that some women saw the Bureau as a place to publicly discuss and share their issues, such as the malpractice that the woman in the third letter experiences. -- CBrau | I thought the first letter was interesting because Mrs. W. M. wants pamphlets from the Childrens Bureau for her new pregnancy despite already having three boys. I was curious as to why such a woman would be interested in this information since she has already experienced pregnancy, birth and raising children. Her eagerness for new information makes it clear that despite any preexisting knowledge, there were women that were curious and very interested in the Bureau's pamphlets. Beforehand, pregnancy had either been a private topic or restricted to local women. This is evident in the second letter, where Mrs. A. E. is clearly experiencing cravings, but has no idea what is going on. Since she wants the Bureau to read and respond to her letter confidentially, I would assume she had not discussed her cravings with other women. Despite a majority of women experiencing pregnancy, I think that the letters show just how few women went around talking about and sharing their experiences like pregnant women do today. Thus, I believe that some women saw the Bureau as a place to publicly discuss and share their issues, such as the malpractice that the woman in the third letter experiences. -- CBrau | ||
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| + | I thought that the first letter was interesting, although I understood how the woman would feel some sense of relief in having written information on hand during pregnancy and after. I had four kids in five years and I still referred to my “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book with each one. I wasn’t aware that the federal government had provided this material to women back then; I think it was a fantastic program. It was also enlightening to read the second letter in which the woman was concerned that she was 'marking' the baby by her cravings. I wonder if this stems from the fact that birthmarks were often referred to as strawberry marks and that this is what the neighbor was referring to. In both of these letters, these women were seeking information about pregnancy and childbirth at a time when being seen by a physician was not a common occurrance and most of their knowledge was instead from other women in their social groups. EFritz | ||
