Women and Motherhood:Social and Psychological Interpretation

Pregnancy being an important milestone in a woman's life, motherhood has long been a debated topic. Every individual posit a different view of motherhood and its importance in one's life. From the time immemorial it has been considered as an expression of female identity, and every woman aspires to become mother to be socially accepted. But what exactly drives a woman to be mother is still a curtained fact. The present article is an endeavor to search for its cause in the society and in psychological makeup of the women. Though the societal operations have important contributions in having favourable attitude towards motherhood, personal choice and psychological factors do manipulate this attitude. A small survey was also conducted to get the impression of motherhood directly from the women to get a more magnified view of their perspectives. The survey revealed the influence of the lifestyle factors that shapes the decision of child bearing of the contemporary women. In this regard, the stance of the different theorists about motherhood has also been taken into account to provide an answer to the question, why every woman wants to have baby and yearns to be called 'mother'.