Franziska Wadephul Julie Jomeen Lesley Glover University of Hull Looking after the Filmstar Baby: Discourses on the websites of commercial ultrasound scanning companies Franziska Wadephul Julie Jomeen Lesley Glover University of Hull Making Parents? Reproduction and family life in contemporary society University of Roehampton 11 December 2015

3D & 4D ultrasound scans 2D image of fetus at 23 weeks 3D image of the same fetus at 23 weeks 2D image of fetus at 23 weeks Many thanks to Samantha and Mark Hepburn for the use of these images

Methodology Critical Discourse Analysis (adapted from Fairclough 2003) Social context Intertextuality & assumptions Interdiscursive analysis Linguistic & semiotic analysis Analysis of images (e.g. Machin & Mayr 2012; Kress & van Leeuwen 2006) Five scanning company websites

Analytical template

Discourses Medicalised discourse of pregnancy Discourse of good mothering Entertainment discourse

Medicalised discourse of pregnancy Pregnancy inherently risky, normal only in retrospect Pregnant women = patients Scans are routine, normal and reduce risk Importance of technology and experts foetal well-being check patients state-of-the-art equipment

Discourse of ‘good mothering’ Good mothers: minimise risk & ensure children’s psychological and physical well- being Starts in pregnancy Focus on ‘bonding’ with the fetus Integrating the baby into the family Every second of every day is a precious moment as the miracle of life begins. Mother and Baby Bonding Your pregnancy is special to us too. You know you have a baby on the way, but it is still hard to believe. Just imagine how wonderfully bonded you would feel if you could actually see your baby. Well now you do not have to imagine with a Baby Premier 4D bonding scan you really can see your unborn baby as it is now possible to visualise the appearance of your baby. The 4D ultrasound scan generates real time like images of your unborn baby in the womb which you will see immediately.

Entertainment discourse 3/4D scans = fun, exciting, thrilling Scan = performance Family experience

Contrasting identities Scanning clinics Provider of medical services Business 3/4D scans Medical procedure Social event & performance Pregnancy Medical event Special time Pregnant woman Patient Client Fetus Potential patient Family member & person

Discussion Some differences between websites Strongly influenced by these discourses but also extend them further Medicalised discourse & discourse of good mothering: some complementarity Potential conflict between good mothering and entertainment discourses Conflict between medicalised discourse and entertainment discourse

References F.Wadephul@hull.ac.uk @FranWadephul Fairclough, N. (2010) Critical Discourse Analysis. Harlow: Longman Kress, G. and van Leeuwen, T. (2006) Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Routledge Machin, D. & Mayr, A. (2012) How to do Critical Discourse Analysis: A Multimodal Introduction. Los Angeles: Sage F.Wadephul@hull.ac.uk @FranWadephul