Amy Popillion, graduate assistant in human development and family studies, will be presenting a lecture titled “How Mothering Affects Women’s Lives,” today at noon in Room 353 of Catt Hall.

“I tried to look at mothers themselves, as individuals,” Popillion said. “Mothers have so many choices now. There really is no right or wrong way anymore.”

Popillion will be using information she gathered from her research project on “Mothering into the New Millennium” for the lecture.

For her project, Popillion held small sessions with focus groups in order to learn about the concerns of today’s mothers. She also talked with the mothers to learn about children’s needs, as well as the sacrifices and the rewards of being a mother.

“Mothers give up part of themselves for their child,” Popillion said. “A mother’s needs always come last.”

Popillion said she believes that although the responsibilities between the mother and father are starting to be shared, people still think of stereotypical, 1950s motherhood.

Jill Bystydzienski, professor of liberal arts and sciences cross disciplines studies, said Popillion was a member of a group of graduate students in women’s studies program given a grant to conduct research on a particular topic.

“There are a lot of misconceptions of mothering in society. It’s a complex phenomenon,” Bystydzienski said.

Popillion’s research has focused on five main themes: descriptions of sacrifice, emotional exhaustion, pressure and expectations, intense connections to children and perceived lack of value.

The mothers in Popillion’s focus groups were from middle-class, two-parent families with anywhere from one to four children. Most of the families had at least one child under the age of five.

A mother of two with one on the way, Popillion said one of the mothers in her focus group summed it up best when she said, “It’s very important to be a mom.”

The discussion is free and is expected to run for an hour. All are welcome to attend.