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Bad Moms and Blameless Dads: The Portrayal of Maternal and Paternal Age and Preconception Harm in U.S. Newspapers
Methods: A content analysis was undertaken of 64 newspaper articles after systematic searching and selection of articles based on inclusion criteria. A coding framework was developed and used to analyze articles for tone. The body and title of articles were analyzed for one or more of 8 tones, which were correlated with the main article focus and gender of author.
Results: Most articles (59%) were maternally focused, 35% were paternally focused, and 6% were equally focused on both women and men. The most frequent maternal tones were informational (29%), demographics (18%), justice (15%), and anxiety (15%). The most frequent paternal tones were informational (25%), demographics (17%), surprise (17%) and reassurance (13%).
Conclusions: Most U.S. newspaper articles focused on maternal age related harms and were more likely to use negative tones for women. In contrast, paternal age related harms were less likely to be discussed and tended to include more reassuring tones. Authors of newspaper articles should employ more gender-neutral tones when discussing age related preconception harm.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informaticsEthics, professional and legal requirements
Learning Objectives:
Compare and contrast how U.S. newspapers portray maternal age and related fetal harm versus paternal age and related fetal harm.
Keyword(s): Ethics, Maternal and Child Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: While earning my Master of Public Health with a concentration in Social Behavior and Community Health, I completed this research project in collaboration with faculty members from Albany Medical College and the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Additionally, I have previously presented this work at the Albany Medical Center’s Ethics Grand Rounds.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.