Women in German society, 1930-1940

The aim of this thesis is to describe and discuss some aspects of the status of, and opportunities for, women in Germany in the years between the impact on Germany of the world economic crisis, which followed on the Wall Street crash in October 1929, and the early years of the Second World War, when the German army was still victorious and the Nazi regime was attempting to wage war with only a partial war economy. The significance of the year 1933, with the Nazi takeover of power, in this decade is inescapable; but it is increasingly clear that many of the political, economic and social policies pursued by the Nazis when in Government were pre -figured in developments conceived and even set in train in the last years of the Weimar Republic, often as a direct result of the depression and its effects. The most serious of these, the massive unemployment in Germany in the early 1930s, did much to condition attitudes to the position of women, particularly with regard to their employment - in manual and professional occupations alike - outside the home. Nazi ideology indeed affected policies concerning women, but it was conveniently in tune with the needs and the mood of the time; thus, for a short time Nazi ideology seemed to have practical application, in providing justification for the provision of jobs for men at the expense of women. This situation rapidly changed, as full employment was achieved, and a shortage of labour became Germany's problem in the later 1930s, particularly once war broke out in September 1939. Then, a conflict developed between the Party ideologues and the men in charge of day-to-day Government, a conflict which was resolved in favour of the former in 1941, no doubt partly because women were reluctant to provide the labour which was badly needed.The depression, Nazi ideology, and the build -up to a partial war economy affected policies towards women not only in employment of all kinds but also in the realm of higher education. The broad categories into which this work falls therefore include higher education and senior schooling, as well as employment outside the home and, particularly, the professions. Since attitudes in these areas were partly conditioned by, and partly conditioned, attitudes towards the position of women in the family, particularly as child - bearers, some discussion of marriage and morals is included. The part played by the women's organisations in the Imperial and Republican periods necessitates some brief discussion of them, while the Nazis' attempt to organise German women - with a marked lack of success - must also be considered. Naturally, many omissions remain; this work cannot claim to be a comprehensive social history of women in the 1930s.The points which are of most general interest here are the continuity of policy from about 1930 to 1935/36, in spite of - or perhaps because of - the assumption of power by the Nazis, the failure of the Nazis to institute a fully totalitarian regime largely because of their dependence on positive support from the people, and the conflict between Party and State. With regard particularly to women, it is clear that while equality of rights and equality of opportunity were not achieved in the Weimar years, enough progress was made in securing a place for women in employment generally, in the professions and in higher education, for attempts at discrimination against them - before as well as after 1933 - to fail to have significant effect. The net result of the 1930s was, in fact, to consolidate their position in these areas, once the Nazis' immediate political and foreign ambitions necessitated an increase in personnel in them in the later 1930s. This was in spite of the Nazis' overwhelming obsession with the birth rate, which led at first to attempts to remove women from activity outside the home, and then to preoccupation with providing for the welfare of employed women. Connected with this, the 1930s also witnessed a reversal of the postwar tendency to underestimate the contribution to the life of the nation of the full -time housewife and mother. For "Aryan ", "politically reliable" German women, then, the Nazi regime brought some benefit, and the disadvantages experienced by women were very often those which men, too, suffered. But benefit and disadvantage alike were conditioned not by the needs or desires of individual Germans or of groups of Germans; the needs of the State, as interpreted by the Nazi Party, and particularly by Hitler, had primacy in every area of policy

Options for National Parks and Reserves for Adapting to Climate Change

Past and present climate has shaped the valued ecosystems currently protected in parks and reserves, but future climate change will redefine these conditions. Continued conservation as climate changes will require thinking differently about resource management than we have in the past; we present some logical steps and tools for doing so. Three critical tenets underpin future management plans and activities: (1) climate patterns of the past will not be the climate patterns of the future; (2) climate defines the environment and influences future trajectories of the distributions of species and their habitats; (3) specific management actions may help increase the resilience of some natural resources, but fundamental changes in species and their environment may be inevitable. Science-based management will be necessary because past experience may not serve as a guide for novel future conditions. Identifying resources and processes at risk, defining thresholds and reference conditions, and establishing monitoring and assessment programs are among the types of scientific practices needed to support a broadened portfolio of management activities. In addition to the control and hedging management strategies commonly in use today, we recommend adaptive management wherever possible. Adaptive management increases our ability to address the multiple scales at which species and processes function, and increases the speed of knowledge transfer among scientists and managers. Scenario planning provides a broad forward-thinking framework from which the most appropriate management tools can be chosen. The scope of climate change effects will require a shared vision among regional partners. Preparing for and adapting to climate change is as much a cultural and intellectual challenge as an ecological challenge

A mixed methods study investigating sources of fertility and reproductive health information in the UK

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the different sources used by individuals when seeking fertility information in order to understand what's working, what isn't, and opportunities for improvement. METHODS: A mixed-method study was conducted via UK-wide cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews. 1082 survey-participants were recruited nationwide via online-newspaper and social-media adverts. Of those who agreed to follow-up interview, 35 were purposively sampled to reflect the diversity of gender, age-range, ethnicity and education. Tableau software was used for surveys and NVIVO for interviews. Interview data was transcribed and analysed via thematic framework analysis. RESULTS: Sources of information identified included: school-education; healthcare-professionals; internet, social-media, smartphone-apps, online-forums and blogs; family, friends, and communities; books, magazines, newspapers; fertility-products; workplace, communities and sexual-health clinics/centres, charities, and third-party organisations. Participants reported varying levels of access, reliability, and trust, in relation to these sources. Interview themes around veracity showed that healthcare-professionals were highly trusted but not easily accessible. The internet was very popular due to accessibility and perceived anonymity but untrusted, and "the plethora of information can be overwhelming." There were recurring themes around discomfort. A respondent recalled that her first discussion of sex with her mother was on her wedding night stating, "…Mum, I'm 28! And you're just discussing this with me now?" CONCLUSIONS: School education remains a consistent but sometimes inadequate source of fertility information. In addition to online-platforms and products based on robust scientific evidence, opportunities for improvement include using underexploited sources, such as workplace and community settings, with training for providers

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Grounded Theory Research

National initiatives in the United States call for health research that addresses racial/ethnic disparities. Although grounded theory (GT) research has the potential to contribute much to the understanding of the health experiences of people of color, the extent to which it has contributed to health disparities research is unclear. In this article we describe a project in which we reviewed 44 GT studies published in Qualitative Health Research within the last five years. Using a framework proposed by Green, Creswell, Shope, and Clark (2007), we categorized the studies at one of four levels based on the status and significance afforded racial/ethnic diversity. Our results indicate that racial/ethnic diversity played a primary role in five studies, a complementary role in one study, a peripheral role in five studies, and an absent role in 33 studies. We suggest that GT research could contribute more to health disparities research if techniques were developed to better analyze the influence of race/ethnicity on health-related phenomena

Pregnancy planning, smoking behaviour during pregnancy, and neonatal outcome

Abstract Objective. To investigate the independent effects of pregnancy planning and smoking during pregnancy on neonatal outcome. Design. Population-based cohort study. Setting. UK Millennium Cohort Study. Sample. 18,178 singleton babies born in UK between 2000 and 2001. Methods. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between pregnancy planning and/or smoking and neonatal outcome. Adjusted odds ratios were used to calculate population attributable risk fractions(PAFs). Main Outcome measures. Low birthweight (<2.5Kg) and pre-term birth (<37 completed weeks gestation). Results. 43% of mothers did not plan their pregnancy and 34% were smoking just before and/or during pregnancy. Planners were half as likely to be smokers just before pregnancy, and more likely to give up or reduce the amount smoked if smokers. Unplanned pregnancies had 24% increased odds of low birth weight and prematurity compared to planned pregnancies (AOR LBW 1.24, 95%CI1.04-1.48; AOR PREM 1.24, 95%CI1.05-1.45), independent of smoking status. The odds of low birth weight for babies of mothers who were smoking just before pregnancy was 91% higher than that of mothers who were not (AOR LBW 1.91, 95%CI1.56-2.34). Women who quit or reduced the amount smoked during pregnancy lowered the risk of low birth weight by one third (AOR LBW 0.66, 95% CI0.51-0.85) compared with women whose smoking level did not change. Smaller effects were found for prematurity. If all women planned their pregnancy and did not smoke before or during pregnancy, 30% of low birthweight and 14% of prematurity could, in theory, be avoided. Conclusions. Planning a pregnancy and avoiding smoking during pregnancy has clear, independent, health benefits for babies. Quitting or reducing the amount smoked during pregnancy can reduce the risk of low birthweight

Preparation for fatherhood: A survey of men\u27s preconception health knowledge and behaviour in England.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of men attending antenatal care with their partners at three London Maternity Units. We assessed level of pregnancy planning using the partner version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP), preconception health behaviours, and whether they had sought information and health professional advice before conception. MAIN RESULTS: We recruited 573 men (91% response rate). Mean age was 34 years, 86% were in employment or full time education and 66% had a degree. Half were overweight or obese, 16% were still smoking and 79% had consumed alcohol in the three months before conception. Of 250 men answering questions about medication, a third were taking medication with potentially adverse effects on male reproductive health, while 23% reported taking pre-pregnancy vitamins. 46.9% had looked at information about pregnancy from a variety of sources, including online, before their partner became pregnant. Assessed by the LMUP, 74% of pregnancies were planned. Male \u27planners\u27 were more likely than other men to reduce smoking, reduce alcohol consumption and to eat more healthily in preparation for pregnancy. However, 57% took no action to improve their health. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FINDINGS: In a sample of relatively educated men accompanying their partners on an antenatal visit, nearly half had made at least one positive health behaviour change before pregnancy, but half were overweight or obese and a third were on medication that could impair male reproductive health. These findings, together with a high prevalence of alcohol consumption and smoking, indicate the need for greater paternal preconception health awareness and care. Innovative ways to promote positive messages about fatherhood, including medication review as part of preconception care, should be evaluated for impact on improving paternal reproductive health and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of a Version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy for Women’s Partners

BackgroundThe role of women’s partners in pregnancy planning has gained importance with the development of preconception care. The measurement of pregnancy planning/intention has also changed in the last two decades with the development of psychometric measures such as the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP). This analysis aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a version of the LMUP for women’s partners in the UK. MethodsThe LMUP items, adapted for completion by partners, were piloted and included in a survey of (mainly male) partners in three antenatal clinics in London, UK, as part of a study of pre-pregnancy health and care. The psychometric properties of the partner LMUP were assessed according to the principles of Classical Test Theory. ResultsThere were 575 partners of pregnant women in the sample, 573 (99.7%) being men. There were high comple-tion rates for all the LMUP items. The distribution of LMUP scores ranged from 1–12, with a negative skew (biased towards planned/intended pregnancies). In terms of reliability (internal consistency), Cronbach’s alpha was 0.69, item-rest correlations were \u3e0.2 for five items, and all inter-item correlations were positive. In terms of construct validity, principal components analysis showed that measurement was unidimensional, confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit, and the convergent validity hypothesis of non-perfect, moderate-to-good agreement between couples’ LMUP scores was met. ConclusionsThe partner LMUP performed well in terms of reliability and validity according to internationally-accepted criteria for the performance of psychometric measures and can be used in future research on men and couples. However, we recommend further research relating to the concept of pregnancy planning/inten-tion among partners of all gender identities to understand whether additional content would enhance the measurement of the construct. In particular, we recommend further conceptual exploration with men who have experienced unplanned pregnancies

How do women prepare for pregnancy? Preconception experiences of women attending antenatal services and views of health professionals

Copyright: © 2014 Stephenson et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Main objective - To determine the extent to which women plan and prepare for pregnancy. Methods - Cross-sectional questionnaire survey of pregnant women attending three maternity services in London about knowledge and uptake of preconception care; including a robust measure of pregnancy planning, and phone interviews with a range of health care professionals. Main results - We recruited 1173/1288 (90%) women, median age of 32 years. 73% had clearly planned their pregnancy, 24% were ambivalent and only 3% of pregnancies were unplanned. 51% of all women and 63% of those with a planned pregnancy took folic acid before pregnancy. 21% of all women reported smoking and 61% reported drinking alcohol in the 3 months before pregnancy; 48% of smokers and 41% of drinkers reduced or stopped before pregnancy. The 51% of all women who reported advice from a health professional before becoming pregnant were more likely to adopt healthier behaviours before pregnancy [adjusted odds ratios for greatest health professional input compared with none were 2.34 (95% confidence interval 1.54–3.54) for taking folic acid and 2.18 (95% CI 1.42–3.36) for adopting a healthier diet before pregnancy]. Interviews with 20 health professionals indicated low awareness of preconception health issues, missed opportunities and confusion about responsibility for delivery of preconception care. Significance of the findings - Despite a high level of pregnancy planning, awareness of preconception health among women and health professionals is low, and responsibility for providing preconception care is unclear. However, many women are motivated to adopt healthier behaviours in the preconception period, as indicated by halving of reported smoking rates in this study. The link between health professional input and healthy behaviour change before pregnancy is a new finding that should invigorate strategies to improve awareness and uptake of pre-pregnancy health care, and bring wider benefits for public health.Department of Healt