A family systems view of emotional disturbances during pregnancy

Using the interactional perspective of family systems theory, the author examines several cases of pre-partum emotional disturbances referred by an OB-GYN practice with which she serves as a counsellor and consultant. Common dynamics are described. The complexity of the intrapersonal and interpersonal impact of pregnancy on each woman and her extended family warrant recognition by obstetrical staff and supportive guidance by a trained clinician in acute cases. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Government policy and personal family planning approval in conflict settings: The case of the Muslim minority in the Southern Philippines

Summary Certain minority groups in a number of culturally pluralistic societies have interpreted governmentally sponsored family planning programmes as vehicles for reducing one basis for potential political power, i.e. the minority group's share of the total population. This has especially been the case in societies with protracted inter-group conflict. Such a conflict situation is found in the Southern Philippines between indigenous Muslims and arriving Christian settlers. Contrasting Muslim women in predominantly Muslim and in pluralistic-Muslim minority settings into which there have been sizeable Christian incursions, we suggest that though cultural pluralism has facilitated the dissemination of the national government's position on family planning, the nature of culture contact, and inter-group conflict could have provoked personal opposition to family planning because of its links with the government.     

Partner awareness regarding the adult sequelae of childhood sexual abuse for primary and secondary survivors

This qualitative study investigates factors that may facilitate or impede awareness within couples regarding the sequelae of childhood sexual abuse for adult females and their partner. Six couples were interviewed about perceived effects of the abuse for self and partner and their perceptions regarding their awareness of these effects. Transcribed data were analyzed using grounded-theory methodology. Emergent themes regarding potential barriers to and facilitators of agreement are outlined in the context of the expressive and receptive abilities and motivations of each partner in communicating about the abuse. Preliminary implications for marriage and family therapy and further research are provided.     

AIN'T I A FILIPINO (WOMAN)?: An Analysis of Authorship/Authority Through the Construction of “Filipina” on the Net

In this article, I examine the process by which Filipino women's identity was articulated, reified and renegotiated on soc.culture.filipino, a newsgroup community on the Internet that, as a hub, sustains a flux membership of 20,000 registrants. By observing several online debates, I witnessed the process by which members of the diaspora negotiated the meaning of Filipino women's identity with people in the Philippines and how they atempted to forge a cultural identity for the community itself. In this article, I show that articulated stereotypes of Filipino and Asian women were intimately connected to racial empowerment, anti-colonial, and nationalist projects. In doing Internet research, I was able to document the intersection between postcolonial studies and computer mediated communication theories on studying identity in flux and was able to analyze the role of the Internet in decentering identities as well as the possibility of dismantling Grand Narratives.     

Sons,Daughters or Both?: An Analysis of Family Sex Composition Preferences in the Philippines

An analysis of family sex composition preferences as well as the relationship between actual family sex composition and desire for no additional children among a national sample of Filipino women is presented. An emphasis on balance or son-daughter equivalence is strongest in Metropolitan Manila. Son preference is highest in rural Mindanao and Sulu, primarily due to the concentration of Muslims in this section of the country and secondarily to its pioneer environment and the presumed utility of sons in such a milieu. The importance of eliciting sex composition preferences from both husbands and wives as well as distinguishing the “striking for a balance” from sex-linked preferences in future research is discussed.     

Awareness of Listeriosis and Methylmercury toxicity public health recommendations and diet during pregnancy

Background

Awareness of Listeriosis and Methylmercury toxicity recommendations are associated with decreased intake of high-risk foods. Whether awareness of the recommendations affect dietary quality of pregnant women in Australian is unknown.

The Greek mirror: the Uranians and their use of Greece

The Uranians comprised a loosely knit group of British and American homosexual poets writing between approximately 1880 and 1930, sharing a number of basic cultural and literary assumptions derived on one hand from Walter Pater, and on the other from Walt Whitman. Although they used Oriental, Christian and other motifs, one of the major elements many shared was a use of various allusions and themes from ancient Greece, including paganism, male companionship or intimate friendship (which was not defined in terms of sameness), and democracy and a natural aristocracy of virtue, which they applied to the concerns of their own society and era. The model of male relationships which they advocated (and in at least some cases practiced) was almost uniformly asymmetrical, either by age or class, or both. In addition to their poetry, various theoretical writings by members of the group are also involved in the discussion, and this article argues that these historical/ literary allusions and themes should not be understood as means of evasion which allowed them to write of tabooed subjects safely, but as part of a consciously adopted artistic/cultural strategy for homosexual emancipation. It also suggests that their arguments should be reexamined as a corrective to the present egalitarian model of homosexuality.     

Toward a Theoretical Framework for Perinatal Bereavement

Correspondence to Dr Keith Brownlee, School of Social Work, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1 CANADA. E-mail: keith.brownlee{at}lakeheadu.ca or oikonenj{at}imail.tbh.net Summary For many women a foetal or neonatal death is a significant life-alteringevent. Modern medicine has offered pregnant women an early awarenessof their developing foetus coupled with an opportunity for advancedfeelings of attachment, which, in most cases, accentuates thegrief and sense of loss. While crisis intervention serviceshave become standard practice in hospital settings and typicallymeet many clinical and short-term needs of bereaved parents,conventionally held theories of grief fall short of the realitiesdescribed by such parents. This paper critically examines theclinical and research support for current approaches to perinatalgrief and argues that theory development specific to perinatalloss is needed within the field and that social workers canplay an important role in this respect. Some emerging ideasare discussed that appear to hold promise for establishing modelsthat would be more responsive to the particular complexitiesof perinatal bereavement.