Jointly Navigating the Reclamation of the Woman I Used to Be: Negotiating Concerns About the Postpartum Body Within the Marital Dyad

This interpretive study explored the marital dyad as a context for the negotiation of concerns relative to the postpartum body, and in particular, the reconfiguration of this body so as to more closely approximate the pre-pregnant body/self. The research was guided by symbolic interactionism and the work of Erving Goffman. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 14 married couples expecting their first child. Analyses revealed that wives and husbands negotiated meanings relative to recapturing, redefining, and reclaiming wives' bodies after childbirth in a way that suggested a repertoire of possible selves, including the Woman I/My Wife Used to Be (before pregnancy), the Woman I Fear I/My Wife Could Become (i.e., a woman who cannot get her old shape back), and the Women I/My Wife Hope(s) to Become (i.e., a woman who can get her old shape back) (cf. Guy & Banim, 2000). Within this general system of meanings, three overarching themes emerged: (a) aspirations for the postpartum body, (b) the navigation of concerns relative to the appearance of the postpartum body, and (c) reclamation projects planned and/or undertaken by wives. In varied ways, interactions within the marital dyad shaped the wives' efforts to navigate their concerns about the postpartum body and to plan or undertake bodily reclamation projects. Generally speaking, husband-wife interactions were described by wives as a source of reassurance in the journey back to The Women They Used to Be. Findings provide support for interactionist proposition that the people come to understand the body through others' eyes.