1. 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

2. 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

5. 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

6. Analytical template

7. Discourses Medicalised discourse of pregnancy
Discourse of good mothering
Entertainment discourse

8. 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

9. 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.

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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
@FranWadephul