Courtney Odell

Mothers with Multiple Sclerosis: Voice, Identity, and Empowerment Courtney Odell

This book examines the impact of chronic illness on the experiences of motherhood. The data for this examination derives from qualitative interviews with mothers with multiple sclerosis (MS). The interview questions for the qualitative research study focused on issues pertaining to the impact MS has had on chronically-ill women?s perceptions of mothering, identity, the body, and the medical establishment. This research contributes to scholarship on feminist analysis of mothering, identity, and health care. This work argues that despite facing barriers to empowerment met in essentialized views of motherhood, a social lack of knowledge about chronic illness, and hierarchical health-care models, mothers with multiple sclerosis empower themselves to care for their bodies, the needs of their families, and to incorporate the changes MS introduces to their lives in meaningful ways.