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The Birth of a Welfare State: Feminists, Midwives, Working Women and the Fight for Norwegian Maternity Leave, 1880-1940

Peterson, Anna M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373297278

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
This dissertation analyzes interactions between politicians, bureaucrats and diverse groups of women over the issue of maternity legislation in Norway between 1880 and 1940. It adds to a rich historiographic debate on welfare state development, women's roles in the creation of welfare policies, the Scandinavian model of welfare and the institutionalization of women's birth experiences. During the sixty years that this study encompasses, Norwegian maternity legislation underwent drastic and dynamic changes. From their initial implementation in 1892, maternity policies expanded in coverage, application and protections. This dissertation traces the history of this development along several lines, including local and national political processes and women's collective and individual influence. While women's access to maternity provisions steadily increased during this period, these achievements were fraught with struggles. Historical context shaped the types of arguments women could use to advance political debates about maternity. In many cases, these hindrances led to the creation of policies that promoted maternity legislation at the expense of certain groups of women's autonomy. Women did not act as a monolithic group when it came to maternity policies. Feminists, midwives and working women actively participated in the creation of Norwegian maternity policies and adapted them to fit their particular needs and interests. These groups of women transformed maternity leave from a mandatory, restrictive form of state control over women's reproduction to a benefit that all working women had a right to receive. In order to achieve more beneficial maternity policies, these groups of women embraced arguments that resonated with contemporary concerns. Late-nineteenth factory legislation had established maternity as an area of state intervention mainly because it fell in line with what other more industrialized countries were doing at the time. These early maternity policies restricted mothers' economic activities and women responded by demanding significant changes to maternity legislation. During the early twentieth century feminists and midwives, in particular, used the political focus on infant mortality rates and public health to push for compensatory maternity benefits for women. This led to more comprehensive maternity policies for working-class women. In 1913 Norwegian women won the right to vote, and during the interwar period feminists used women's new status as full citizens to frame maternity as an issue of women's rights. These efforts led to the passage of comprehensive and generous policies in the 1930s. The rhetorical framework that women constructed in order to achieve these results had a lasting impact on the development of maternity policy in Norway long into the postwar period.
Birgitte Søland (Advisor)
Robin Judd (Committee Member)
Susan Hartmann (Committee Member)
321 p.
European History; Gender Studies; Scandinavian Studies; Welfare; Womens Studies
maternity leave; welfare state; Norway; midwives; motherhood; history of childbirth; maternity legislation; feminism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Peterson, A. M. (2013). The Birth of a Welfare State: Feminists, Midwives, Working Women and the Fight for Norwegian Maternity Leave, 1880-1940 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373297278

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Peterson, Anna. The Birth of a Welfare State: Feminists, Midwives, Working Women and the Fight for Norwegian Maternity Leave, 1880-1940. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373297278.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Peterson, Anna. "The Birth of a Welfare State: Feminists, Midwives, Working Women and the Fight for Norwegian Maternity Leave, 1880-1940." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373297278

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1373297278
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.