50 Years of Becoming a Mother
This project examines women's transition to motherhood over the last 50 years in the UK
The project runs from February 2025 to September 2029 and is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
News
Charlotte Faircloth discusses Matrescence
As part of Matrescence Matters Week (26 September – 2 October 2026), BAM50 Co-PI Charlotte Faircloth featured on the podcast The Secret Life of Mothers. Watch the video recording here.
Ann Oakley honoured in UCL200
Congratulations to Professor Ann Oakley who has been named one of the ‘faces of UCL’. As part of UCL’s bicentennial celebrations, Ann is recognised for contributing to 200 years of ground-breaking research, innovation, education and impact at the university. “For over 50 years, her work has challenged perceptions of gender, domestic labour and motherhood, tracing…
BAM50 host special screening at UCL
In July we held a special screening event as part of UCL200. Over eighty people joined us to watch a 1978 archival broadcast from Thames Television, featuring Ann Oakley and two first-time mothers from the original BAM study, reflecting on their experiences of becoming a mother. Nearly five decades later they reunited for a live…
Project Leaders
Charlotte Faircloth
Professor of Family and Society at the UCL Social Research Institute and Project Leader of the BAM50 project.
Ann Oakley
Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, is one of the most influential sociologists of post-war Britain, and Co-Project Leader on BAM50.
Meg Wiggins
Senior Research Officer and Lecturer in Social Policy at the UCL Social Research Institute, and Co-Project Leader of BAM50.