Dr. Jenna Pandeli, Dr Chloe Tarrabain & Dr Mahwish Khan
Welcome to the home of our research on ‘The Invisible Labour of New Mothers on Maternity Leave in a Global Pandemic’.
Here you will find our full research report, a short video that gives you an insight into our research findings, and you will also find additional information and resources related to the research.
So, why did we start this project?
All three of us gave birth at different stages during the global Pandemic, Chloe in March 2020, Mahwish in June 2020, and Jenna in September 2020. As a result, this research has been a complete labour of love and a cathartic experience for all of us. Like most women who gave birth during the intermittent lockdowns, we found the experience difficult, if not traumatic, and often felt ignored, isolated and undermined – people just did not seem to understand the magnitude of impact that Covid had on our maternity and early experiences of motherhood. In speaking to other mothers, we knew we weren’t alone and as such we thought it was important to give voice to these women and to make their, and our, experiences a little more visible.
What’s the purpose of our research?
As the research progressed, we realised that a lot of the difficulties we faced were typical of maternity leave more generally (e.g. loneliness, guilt, monotony) and covid simply exacerbated these difficulties. Therefore, we think our research has two key purposes; 1) To provide an understanding of the experiences of maternity leave during the covid pandemic, to place them in history and to document their stories, 2) To highlight, more generally, the invisible work/hidden layers of work that are undertaken during maternity leave that can be all consuming and cause burnout.
Get in touch!
We hope you enjoy reading the report/watching the video and that it gives you some insight into the experiences of our participants on maternity leave during the pandemic. If you have any questions or would like to collaborate or discuss this research with us in more detail, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via jenna.pandeli@uwe.ac.uk . We feel so passionately about this work and want our research to have practical implications and be used widely, so feel free to share!
Warm wishes
Jenna, Chloe and Mahwish.
Our report is available to download in standard size PDF Format.
If you require access to our report in a different format please let us know.
More about the authors.
Dr Jenna Pandeli is an Associate Professor in Organisation Studies at UWE, Bristol. She is interested in using qualitative methodologies,namely ethnography, to provide a greater understanding of the everyday experiences of work. She has a special interest in invisible forms of work, which so far has focused on prison labour and motherhood. She was awarded the SAGE prize for Excellence and Innovation 2020 for her publication ‘Captives in Cycles of Invisibility’. Her son, Elias, is 3 years old and obsessed with Dinosaurs and The Incredible Hulk.
Dr Chloe Tarrabain is Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies at UWE, Bristol. Her research interests focus on the critical analysis of organisations and workers’ experiences. Her research centres on precarious forms of employment and migrant labour and more recently has become interested in motherhood and hidden labour. In her research, she has used ethnographic methods to explore organisational dynamics and workers’ everyday experiences. Chloe’s fulltime job is being Mum to her daughter, Summer. Aside from organisational ethnography, she is expert in soft play, playdoh and all things Frozen (…movie, food and ice lollies).
Dr Mahwish Khan is the Associate Director — Organisation Studies at UWE. Her research interests include analysing employment experiences of women and evaluation of the quality of employment along a number of dimensions, including working hours, autonomy at work, pay, access to continuing professional development and career progression. She prefers qualitative research methods to obtain insights into experiences of others. She is a proud mother of her 3-year-old son, Eesa, who has recently started Pre-School and thinks he is a ‘big boy’.
Extra resources.
Although the pandemic is over the impact is not. If you or anyone you know has been affected by maternity and early experiences of motherhood through Covid or more generally as a new parent, we have pulled together a list of resources that are free to access and we hope can be of use.
Pandas PnD Awareness & Support: Home – PANDAS Foundation UK
Mums Aid: Home – MumsAid (mums-aid.org)
Mind: Support while you are pregnant and after you give birth – Mind
Maternal Mental Health Alliance: Support for mums and families | Maternal Mental Health Alliance
Birth Trauma Association: The Birth Trauma Association
Gingerbread – Charity for Single Parents: Home | Gingerbread