The Research Story

Abstract

This chapter tells the story of this research, not only in order to contextualise the book, but also to share my own reflections on the research process. I did not share the experience of pregnancy with the women in my study, but the research experience inevitably led to considerable reflection upon the process and my position as ‘not mother’ added interesting and often unexpected dimensions to the work. Throughout the research period, it became a project in itself to understand and process the conflicts and contradictions around power in my relationships with the women that I interviewed from my position as a childless woman and a feminist researcher. The more I listened to the women’s unique experiences of being pregnant, and the more I asked a wide range of questions, invariably, the more questions I was asked by my group about certain aspects of pregnancy, even though they were aware that I had never been pregnant.