Becoming Mothers in Precarity: Gender, Work, and Domestic Life in Urban West Bengal

This paper explores how underprivileged married women in urban West Bengal make sense of motherhood while navigating precarious labour and domestic responsibilities. Focusing on the personal narratives of nannies, fourth-class staffs and domestic workers who have consciously chosen to raise a single child, the study combines thematic analysis with narrative inquiry to examine how women articulate their maternal identities in the face of structural hardship. The findings reveal that motherhood, for these women, is not only shaped by reproductive decisions but also by their everyday efforts to balance care, work, and survival. The choice to have a single child emerges as a deliberate strategy that reflects their emotional, economic, and social realities. By centring women's voices and lived experiences, this study offers a deeper understanding of how motherhood is negotiated and redefined in the context of developing countries, where gender, labour, and class intersect.