The power of place : Place security in the context of pregnancy

Abstract: The study explores the importance of place attachment for women’s sense of security during pregnancy. Coping strategies of pregnant women are analysed, focusing on how the prospect of giving birth affects their relationship to place. Anthony Giddens’ concept of ontological security is critically examined and used to investigate the connection between place and ontological security – what I call place security –through a set of empirical data drawn from in-depth interviews with pregnant women.   Two studies were carried out, one in Sweden and the other in northern Norway. A qualitative analysis was made of the interview material, using the three basic elements of ontological security, self-identity, continuity and ritualisation, as a grid of analysis. Earlier psychological research indicates that the prospect of giving birth and raising a family brings the issue of ontological security to the surface. The data confirms such findings, demonstrating the particular importance of place. During pregnancy, the women came to consider issues of identity related to their own childhood experience. A sense of security connected to place was essential for their well-being in this vulnerable period of transition, and places procuring this security were consciously sought to alleviate anxiety. Both women who had previously lived very mobile lives and those who had been more sedentary exhibit the need for place security. A typical coping strategy was to return to childhood places. In other cases, the women tried to achieve place security for their children by recreating an environment similar to the place their own sense of identity was rooted in. Social institutions, such as schools, day-care facilities and jobs, largely determine in which places a sense of security can be achieved from a practical point of view. Deeper ontological security, however, relates to the individual’s life history, and to places that represent continuity, daily routines and the constitution of identity for that individual. The study investigates the significance of childhood experiences of place with respect to the women’s experience of security during pregnancy