How is Technology Changing the Meaning of Motherhood for Western Women

Abstract

Technology has dramatically changed women’s social options and social roles. The advent of contraception allowed women to control the timing of their pregnancies and liberated them to pursue education and a career before motherhood. But because women’s fertility declines with age, some women who pursue other social options must later turn to reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilisation to add a baby to the equation. New genetic technologies even promise women choices over the types of children they bear.