Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women's conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption

Hammer, Raphaël; Gouilhers, Solène; Radu, Irina; Pehlke-Milde, Jessica; Meyer, Yvonne

doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-25766

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women's conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption
Authors:	Hammer, Raphaël Gouilhers, Solène Radu, Irina Pehlke-Milde, Jessica Meyer, Yvonne
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152 10.21256/zhaw-25766
Published in:	SSM - Qualitative Research in Health
Volume(Issue):	2
Issue:	100152
Issue Date:	2022
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2667-3215
Language:	English
Subjects:	Pregnancy; Breastfeeding; Alcohol consumption; Alcohol abstinence; Risk perception; Motherhood; Longitudinal interview; Qualitative research
Subject (DDC):	618: Gynecology, obstetrics and midwifery
Abstract:	Alcohol use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is associated with diverse risks to infant health. As there is no known safe threshold of alcohol consumption, official guidelines advocate a precautionary approach and advise pregnant and breastfeeding women to abstain. Sociological research has shown that women's occasional drinking during pregnancy involves complex responses to risk messages and health recommendations. However, research on women's views on alcohol consumption during breastfeeding is mostly non-existent. Moreover, how and whether women's understandings of the risk change from one period to the next has not been investigated. Based on longitudinal qualitative interviews, this article aims to understand how women make sense of the risk of alcohol consumption from pregnancy to breastfeeding. Using thematic data analysis, we identify three key conceptualisations of alcohol use as a risk. The first one relates to risk discourses emphasising scientific uncertainty about low alcohol consumption, strict abstinence as shaped by discourse on “good motherhood” and representation of the pregnant body as permeable. The second conceptualisation focuses on the risk as manageable and refers to strategies for controlling consequences of occasional drinking and to representation of woman's body as a filter. The third conceptualisation highlights individuation as the way women regard their foetus or infant as a vulnerable and concrete being. By examining the continuity and change of women's views of the issue of alcohol consumption, this article addresses the transition to motherhood through the lens of the risk issue and contributes to the understanding of risk perception over time.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/25766
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: Attribution - Non commercial - No derivatives 4.0 International
Departement:	School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Midwifery and Reproductive Health (IHG)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	Paare und ihre Wahrnehmung des Alkoholkonsums während Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit: eine soziokulturelle Annäherung an ein „gewöhnliches Risiko“
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Gesundheit

Files in This Item:

File	Description	Size	Format
2022_Hammer-etal_Womens-risk-conceptualisations-alcohhol-pregnancy-breastfeeding.pdf		519.07 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Show full item record

Hammer, R., Gouilhers, S., Radu, I., Pehlke-Milde, J., & Meyer, Y. (2022). Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women’s conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 2(100152). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152

Hammer, R. et al. (2022) ‘Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women’s conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption’, SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 2(100152). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152.

R. Hammer, S. Gouilhers, I. Radu, J. Pehlke-Milde, and Y. Meyer, “Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women’s conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption,” SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, vol. 2, no. 100152, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152.

HAMMER, Raphaël, Solène GOUILHERS, Irina RADU, Jessica PEHLKE-MILDE und Yvonne MEYER, 2022. Uncertainty, manageability and individuation : a longitudinal qualitative study of women’s conceptualisations of risk from pregnancy to breastfeeding—the case of alcohol consumption. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health. 2022. Bd. 2, Nr. 100152. DOI 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152

Hammer, Raphaël, Solène Gouilhers, Irina Radu, Jessica Pehlke-Milde, and Yvonne Meyer. 2022. “Uncertainty, Manageability and Individuation : A Longitudinal Qualitative Study of Women’s Conceptualisations of Risk from Pregnancy to Breastfeeding—the Case of Alcohol Consumption.” SSM - Qualitative Research in Health 2 (100152). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152.

Hammer, Raphaël, et al. “Uncertainty, Manageability and Individuation : A Longitudinal Qualitative Study of Women’s Conceptualisations of Risk from Pregnancy to Breastfeeding—the Case of Alcohol Consumption.” SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, vol. 2, no. 100152, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100152.