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
BAM50 paper presented at Politics of Motherhood conference
BAM50 Research Fellow, Kate Errington, presented a paper at the Politics of Motherhood: Maternalism, Maternity and Mothering conference, hosted by the University of Worcester. In it she reflected on the process of re-analysing Oakley’s original transcripts, the practical challenges, ethical implications, and opportunities for identifying “new” research themes using historical data.
Charlotte Faircloth features on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Child’ podcast
How have our ideas about parenting changed over the last 50 years, and specifically, why are we more ‘anxious’ than ever in how to go about it? You can hear BAM50 project leader Charlotte Faircloth on the BBC Radio 4 programme/Podcast ‘Child’, episode 7 on “Anxiety’
Fertility and Parenting Culture
How do our ideas about motherhood affect the decision to have a child or not? Charlotte was recently a speaker at the ‘Fertility Intentions and Behaviour in Iceland’ final project conference at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, discussing parenting culture and declining fertility rates with colleagues from around the world. You can see more…
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.