Baby And Me: Single Mothers By Choice And The Artificial Reproductive Technology Marketplace

This study adopts an interpretive research approach to explore the consumer experiences of a self-identified group, “Single Mothers by Choice” (SMCs). These women are either in the process of becoming mothers, or have attained motherhood, with the help of the assisted reproductive technologies (ART) industry. In the mid-nineties, the fledgling ART industry sought to serve heterosexual couples in (preferably) long-term committed relationships that faced problems in conceiving naturally (Houston, 2004). A decade later, the profit seeking industry’s rapid embrace of “other mothers,” (single and lesbian women) is indicative of an evolving marketplace that is largely unregulated and may be selective of who it serves (Houston, 2004). The potential vulnerabilities of such a marketplace invite further exploration by consumer researchers. Research on motherhood indicates that this life-stage experience involves extensive transitional consumption as women undergo the physical and socio-cultural transformation into becoming mothers. Recent research on new mothers’ consumer experiences (Jennings and O’Malley, 2003; Prothero, 2002; Carrigan and Sczmigin, 2004; Thomsen and Sorensen, 2006; Banister and Hogg, 2006; Voice Group, 2010) challenge dominant theoretical assumptions that consumers are automatically motivated to make informed decisions to consume through transitory life-roles (Voice Group, 2010). In this research we seek to understand the lived experiences of SMCs as they attain motherhood through ART