El Embarazo after Emigration: Identity Reconceptualization among Latina Immigrants during Motherhood (2012)

Undergraduate: Brittany Teague

Faculty Advisor: Julia Cardona Mack
Department: International & Area Studies

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This thesis explores how middle-class Latina immigrants prepare to bring new lives into the world while they are still reconceptualizing their own identities in the United States in the absence of close family members from their countries of origin. After conducting in-depth interviews with ten Latina immigrants in North Carolina, I argue that pregnancy and early motherhood are illuminating times in which to study identity reformation among Latina immigrants because it is during these transition periods in which women must synthesize advice from family members and decide how to raise their children. The decisions made at this point during an immigrant’s pregnancy establish the parameters in which she will operate throughout motherhood and throughout her life. The results of the research highlight the numerous issues related to emigration that are illuminated during motherhood, such as differences between Latino and American culture, the significance of the name that first-generation parents give their second-generation children, and the importance of the retention of the mother’s culture and language of origin in second-generation Latinos. Conclusions from the research include the necessity to focus on the emotional effects of emigration while engaging in the immigration debate, the possibility of Latino immigrants using family and identity as potential shields against racism and discrimination, and the need for a new pregnancy guide for Latinas.