title: On Becoming an Involuntary Member in the Antepartum Unit.
abstract: In this essay, I articulate the ways in which my scholarship and personal life collided when I became an involuntary member in the antepartum unit of a major university hospital. I draw on research examples taken from my dissertation work in prison and my time in the hospital to illustrate the interconnectedness of these involuntary experiences. After I share these stories, I offer a brief interlude to reflect on the meaningfulness of approaching membership from a continuum-based perspective and the relative implications for health communication scholars, before ending with an articulation how this experience brought me to a more crystallized view of involuntary membership.
authors.affiliation: a School of Communication Studies , Ohio University.
authors.forename: Brittany L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D033262:Narration; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration