The author stresses the differences in maternity. The working women face a lot of challenges that can endanger the lives of the unborn child, also prevent the needed care for the born child. The author compares the lives of working women to past lives, where women did not go to work but engaged in house chores and craftwork. The women took great care of their children and raised them well compared to the working women who have less time for maternity, which is endangering the future generation. The author addresses the economy, culture, and politics concerning the working woman. Poverty has pushed women out of homes to work in the factories characterized by extreme harsh working conditions whereby they lift heavy loads, inhale fumes and stand for long hours, which can endanger their lives and those of unborn babies. There exists a great culture in the society whereby a child is viewed as a source of joy, and the people help the mother during the maternity period. However, laws and policies should be set to protect and ensure the working mother by making sure that women and girls are not subjected to work conditions that may risk their health or endanger the future generation. Working women have the unit and fight for the demands that will shape the future of the world by restoring the pride and joy of maternity.
The “working woman and mother” by Alexandra Kollontai is an educational story that provides insight into motherhood. The author explains how there is a motherhood gap which gives examples of two different women. Mashenka, the wife of the factory’s director, is expecting a baby who is the heir of the husband. The laundress, maid, and dye-worker in Mashenka are also pregnant. The director’s wife does not have to work or get distressed in any way and she is handled uniquely as well as being treated as sacred. The laundress, maid and dye worker are expectant too, but they do not get any special treatment. They have to continue working while they are months into their pregnancies and having no resting time whatsoever. The director’s wife delivers in a house full of nurses, midwives, and doctors, the husband on her side, and the priest giving thanksgiving prayers. The childbirths of other women are different, as the laundress delivers in a room full of people with a midwife who is in a hurry. The maid gives birth to her child under the fence and throws the body in the river while the dye worker gets a stillbirth. The subject matter of the story relates to the culture of the people as well as how the economic status results in inequalities of the working woman and mother.
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The author seeks to explain the burden of motherhood. For the director’s wife, motherhood is joyous as the baby grows up under the supervision of the doctor and nannies. She can rest, go out, do shopping and has people to look after the baby. For the working women, laundress, dyers, and maid (as well as the other women working in the factory), motherhood is a burden. They have nowhere to leave the child. They always have to worry about the child. The child of the director gets better while the babies of the factory workers get thinner every day and ill. When a child of the worker falls, the doctor blames them for not feeding them properly and blames them for the child’s death. The working women cannot explain the difficulties they face and also carry the fear that the doctor would not understand or believe them. Motherhood is not a happy or healthy experience for the working women, unlike the directors wife who has the complete opposite.
Children of working women have a high mortality rate. The reasoning is because the working families are poor, dirty, overcrowded and damp. The mother does not have time to take care of her child. The mothers also do not have time to breastfeed their children and end up using artificial feeding. The children are fed from cow’s milk, which is usually of low quality as the tradesmen tend to sell chalk mixed with water. The babies die from stomach diseases or being poisoned from the factory’s fumes while still in the womb. It is hard for the working class woman to fulfill her maternal obligations.
The economic changes in the current century have changed the view of work and maternity. In the past, women were involved in domestic crafts and housework. The work did not separate the women from their children, and this helped the poor and rich women to look after their children. The economic changes have resulted in industrialization leading to factories and workshops which did demand labor. Poverty in homes has forced the women to work in these places. Overworking in machines has made women develop complications and diseases that put the unborn baby in danger. The baby can also be poisoned by contact with harmful substances or inhalation of poisonous fumes. Some factories make women infertile such as mercury and lead industries. Tobacco and cigarette factories emit nicotine, which can poison children. Carrying heavy loads, running up and down, and standing long hours in the factories can also affect the children. Women should be barred from dangerous work which may affect their maternity life as working in these adverse conditions is risking the maternal health.
I believe there is gender inequality in workplaces. The working women should be barred from jobs that put them at risk or that affect maternity health. Each country should have laws governing a working mother. Factories and industries should also have policies that favor working women. Insecurity and poverty have forced women to work, thus a need for a law that will help women combine maternity and work. The harmful production methods should be replaced with safe ones or eradicated to keep pregnant women safe. They should not raise heavy weights or propel machines. The foot-propelled machines should be mechanized and the working places kept clean and free of extreme temperatures. However due to economic reasons, the improvements and adjustments are viewed to expensive, thus increasing the health risk of a working woman and the future generation.
There should be laws on maternity protection and insurance to protect the working mother. The mother should be given a break before delivering the child and after childbirth. She should also get breaks during the working day to feed the child. However, it is not sufficient to protect the mother during the period of childbirth. Society should have a culture that guarantees the well-being of the mother during pregnancy. The law can protect the woman by introducing maternity benefits at a state expense, as explained by the author.
The author states that workers in different countries are demanding laws that meet the financial and economic needs of the working woman. Ethnically cultures does exist and it takes full care of the mother and child in society, but it only comprises of the family and friends. However, there is still a need for insurance schemes in every country that covers all women regardless of the nature of the job. Delegates from elected among the working women should be ensured that the law is observed and that the woman receives everything she is entitled to. It is the responsibility of every working woman to support the working-class movement. It is fighting for the demands of the working woman and for a better future whereby maternity will be a joy to the women.
In conclusion, working woman and mother is an article by Alexandra Kollokanti, which provides insight to what the working woman and mother go through in workplaces. The emergence of the working class has transformed the pride and joy of maternity to a cross as women are put under working conditions that put the health of the mother and the well-being of the child at risk. There is a need for women to unit and demand for maternity protection, insurance to restore the joy of maternity and avoid risking the future of the children.
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