Other than mother and mothers as others: The experience of motherhood and non-motherhood in relation to 'infertility' and 'involuntary childlessness'

In this article I draw on the data from a recently completed research proje ct within which I was concerned with exploring the social, emotion, and med ical experience of 'infertility' and 'involuntary childlessness' (predomina ntly women's). Here I am concerned particularly with the status and experie nce of non-motherhood and of motherhood achieved following 'infertility'/'i nvoluntary childlessness'. I suggest that non-mothers often feel stigmatise d and perceive that others view them as less than whole, pitiable and "desp erate" even though they often do not feel this way themselves. Women who ac hieve motherhood following 'infertility'/'involuntary childlessness' (parti cularly social rather than biological motherhood) still feel that they do n ot meet the ideal. All of this leads me to suggest that both non-mothers an d women who achieve motherhood in an unusual way can be seen as the "other, " as "stranger." (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.