S. Bertolini - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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The paper aims to reconstruct how "best for" the baby is defined by pregnant couples and addresse... more The paper aims to reconstruct how "best for" the baby is defined by pregnant couples and addresses their main expectations in gender division of care and paid work. In reconstructing the main expected strategies of couples we will look specifically at the role of social resources (family and social network), of social policy and work environments in shaping the nature, scope and quality of parental (leave policy) and nonparental child care (out-of-home services) arrangements. The qualitative study is based on interviews conducted on 21 Italian working (with typical/atypical contracts) couples during their first transition to parenthood, aged between 26-45 and living in the north of Italy in the city of Turin (a medium size city) and in the surrounding area. The sample has been selected mostly by gynecologists/midwives, maternity homes, pre-childbirth courses. The results of the first preliminary analysis show that the main "care ideal" behind Italian working couples expecting a baby is that a newborn baby needs its mother. The "Family care model" (which includes grandparents), if available, is a better solution until the baby is not 12 to 18 months old. The assumption behind this "caring ideal" is that the mother may (or should) reduce her commitment towards job but the father should not. There is little reflection concerning the consequences of long work interruption on women's career paths. We predict that the majority of interviewees will act according to the normative Italian model: mothers will return work after 5-9 months, some of them can add a few months of holidays (fully paid) to maternity leave and then get the help of grandparents and/or use crèches. Fathers (who are entitled to 6 months parental leave paid at 30%) rarely take up parental leave, if they do so they use it for a very short period. If the mother cannot interrupt paid work in order to take care of the baby, parents think that the second best solution for the baby is for a family member (grandparents) take care of him/her. Few interviewees choose the crèches for the first year. The last solution for the parents is to externalize care of the baby, for example through a childminder.
The paper aims to reconstruct how "best for" the baby is defined by pregnant couples and addresse... more The paper aims to reconstruct how "best for" the baby is defined by pregnant couples and addresses their main expectations in gender division of care and paid work. In reconstructing the main expected strategies of couples we will look specifically at the role of social resources (family and social network), of social policy and work environments in shaping the nature, scope and quality of parental (leave policy) and nonparental child care (out-of-home services) arrangements. The qualitative study is based on interviews conducted on 21 Italian working (with typical/atypical contracts) couples during their first transition to parenthood, aged between 26-45 and living in the north of Italy in the city of Turin (a medium size city) and in the surrounding area. The sample has been selected mostly by gynecologists/midwives, maternity homes, pre-childbirth courses. The results of the first preliminary analysis show that the main "care ideal" behind Italian working couples expecting a baby is that a newborn baby needs its mother. The "Family care model" (which includes grandparents), if available, is a better solution until the baby is not 12 to 18 months old. The assumption behind this "caring ideal" is that the mother may (or should) reduce her commitment towards job but the father should not. There is little reflection concerning the consequences of long work interruption on women's career paths. We predict that the majority of interviewees will act according to the normative Italian model: mothers will return work after 5-9 months, some of them can add a few months of holidays (fully paid) to maternity leave and then get the help of grandparents and/or use crèches. Fathers (who are entitled to 6 months parental leave paid at 30%) rarely take up parental leave, if they do so they use it for a very short period. If the mother cannot interrupt paid work in order to take care of the baby, parents think that the second best solution for the baby is for a family member (grandparents) take care of him/her. Few interviewees choose the crèches for the first year. The last solution for the parents is to externalize care of the baby, for example through a childminder.