Discursive constructions of alcohol use and pregnancy among participants in intervention aimed at reducing Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Authors: Msomi, Nqobile Nomonde
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders -- South Africa , Pregnancy -- Psychological aspects , Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Reproductive health -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140374 , vital:37883
- Description: South Africa’s socio-cultural and political history has had significant effects on maternal and reproductive health. The hazardous alcohol use patterns in the country have affected alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Antenatal exposure to alcohol may result in Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The levels of FASD in particular areas of the country are the highest recorded in the world. Epidemiological studies have dominated pregnancy and FASD research in South Africa; however, recently critical scholarship seeking to contextualise the issue of drinking alcohol during pregnancy is emerging. This study forms part of a developmental/formative assessment of an alcohol and pregnancy intervention. Assessment is an important part of pilot interventions, and discourse is a key area of focus due to its constitutive role for the subjectivity of human beings and legitimation of institutional practices. Using a reproductive justice perspective and a Foucauldian approach to analysis, I identified five prominent discursive constructions of alcohol use during pregnancy produced during interviews with community educators. These interviews were conducted following training workshops with the community educators. Participants constructed their living environments as ‘wholly bad’ and ‘issue-ridden’ and positioned alcohol consumption as ‘a destroyer!’, ‘king’ and a social lubricant. They interpellated the foetus, the ‘FASD child’ and pregnant women into this context. They positioned themselves as transformed subjects able to effect change. The foetus was constructed as ‘vulnerable and important’, as opposed to the ‘defiled FASD child’. Pregnant women were constructed as ‘ignorant, preoccupied and unreceptive to knowledge’. These constructions hinged on so-called ‘scientific knowledge’ of biological processes in utero, demonstrating Foucault’s conception of the power/knowledge nexus and how its dynamics transforms knowledge of human beings. Whereas this ‘knowledge’ transformed alcohol consumption and the foetus into powerful and vulnerable subjects respectively, the circulating discourses had objectivising effects on pregnant women. The discourses of responsibilisation, the personification of the foetus, ‘the problem’ category of FASD, the discourse of difference, and the discourse of alcohol consumption as an entrenched practice were circulating around pregnant women. I suggest alterations to the identified constructions using principles of community psychology, the harm reduction model, a social model of disability and the reproductive justice perspective
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Msomi, Nqobile Nomonde
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders -- South Africa , Pregnancy -- Psychological aspects , Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Reproductive health -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140374 , vital:37883
- Description: South Africa’s socio-cultural and political history has had significant effects on maternal and reproductive health. The hazardous alcohol use patterns in the country have affected alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Antenatal exposure to alcohol may result in Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The levels of FASD in particular areas of the country are the highest recorded in the world. Epidemiological studies have dominated pregnancy and FASD research in South Africa; however, recently critical scholarship seeking to contextualise the issue of drinking alcohol during pregnancy is emerging. This study forms part of a developmental/formative assessment of an alcohol and pregnancy intervention. Assessment is an important part of pilot interventions, and discourse is a key area of focus due to its constitutive role for the subjectivity of human beings and legitimation of institutional practices. Using a reproductive justice perspective and a Foucauldian approach to analysis, I identified five prominent discursive constructions of alcohol use during pregnancy produced during interviews with community educators. These interviews were conducted following training workshops with the community educators. Participants constructed their living environments as ‘wholly bad’ and ‘issue-ridden’ and positioned alcohol consumption as ‘a destroyer!’, ‘king’ and a social lubricant. They interpellated the foetus, the ‘FASD child’ and pregnant women into this context. They positioned themselves as transformed subjects able to effect change. The foetus was constructed as ‘vulnerable and important’, as opposed to the ‘defiled FASD child’. Pregnant women were constructed as ‘ignorant, preoccupied and unreceptive to knowledge’. These constructions hinged on so-called ‘scientific knowledge’ of biological processes in utero, demonstrating Foucault’s conception of the power/knowledge nexus and how its dynamics transforms knowledge of human beings. Whereas this ‘knowledge’ transformed alcohol consumption and the foetus into powerful and vulnerable subjects respectively, the circulating discourses had objectivising effects on pregnant women. The discourses of responsibilisation, the personification of the foetus, ‘the problem’ category of FASD, the discourse of difference, and the discourse of alcohol consumption as an entrenched practice were circulating around pregnant women. I suggest alterations to the identified constructions using principles of community psychology, the harm reduction model, a social model of disability and the reproductive justice perspective
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Between reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare services: narratives of reproductive rights activists in South Africa
- Authors: Jacobs, Marc
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Reproductive rights -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Human reproduction -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Reproductive health -- South Africa , Abortion -- Government policy -- South Africa , South Africa. Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17707 , vital:22270
- Description: The motivation behind the research paper, “Between reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare services: Narratives of reproductive rights activists in South Africa” stems from the notion that civil society groups have often played a critical role in addressing social justice issues concerning women’s rights. Since 1996 after implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act, South Africa has frequently been praised for its progressive abortion laws that formally recognises women’s need for reproductive autonomy and equality. However, ineffective implementation has resulted in many women facing a combination of barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare services. Thus, resulting in some women opting for unsafe, illegal abortion services and placing their health and lives in danger. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to capture the perceptions of contemporary South African based reproductive rights activists and NGOs who engage in campaigns that seek to highlight the complex relationship between reproductive rights and access to such rights. Data for the study was collected through open-ended questionnaires in which participants provided their unique opinions as activists who regularly engage with the abortion and access issues in South Africa. Results from the study suggest that ineffective implementation of the CTOP Act can be attributed to a lack of political will to prioritise women’s sexual and reproductive rights, thereby further marginalising women in society. Results also point to the need for widespread support from civil society on women’s rights matters so that the State can more effectively be held accountable for catering to the most marginalised women in South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Jacobs, Marc
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Reproductive rights -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Human reproduction -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Reproductive health -- South Africa , Abortion -- Government policy -- South Africa , South Africa. Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/17707 , vital:22270
- Description: The motivation behind the research paper, “Between reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare services: Narratives of reproductive rights activists in South Africa” stems from the notion that civil society groups have often played a critical role in addressing social justice issues concerning women’s rights. Since 1996 after implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act, South Africa has frequently been praised for its progressive abortion laws that formally recognises women’s need for reproductive autonomy and equality. However, ineffective implementation has resulted in many women facing a combination of barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare services. Thus, resulting in some women opting for unsafe, illegal abortion services and placing their health and lives in danger. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to capture the perceptions of contemporary South African based reproductive rights activists and NGOs who engage in campaigns that seek to highlight the complex relationship between reproductive rights and access to such rights. Data for the study was collected through open-ended questionnaires in which participants provided their unique opinions as activists who regularly engage with the abortion and access issues in South Africa. Results from the study suggest that ineffective implementation of the CTOP Act can be attributed to a lack of political will to prioritise women’s sexual and reproductive rights, thereby further marginalising women in society. Results also point to the need for widespread support from civil society on women’s rights matters so that the State can more effectively be held accountable for catering to the most marginalised women in South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
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