The Globalization Of Motherhood

The convergence of dramatic declines in birth rates worldwide, aside from sub-Saharan Africa, the rise of untrammelled global movement of capital, people and information, and the rapid-fire dissemination of a host of new medical technologies has led to the "globalization of motherhood". This book brings together research from the Global North and the Global South to illuminate how contemporary motherhood is being changed by the processes of globalization. It locates declining fertility and desire for motherhood in the context of female employment, the development of the global market in reproductive technologies, the rising transnational labour market demand for feminized carework, and changing family forms. Focusing on the impacts on women who mother- and enable others to do so- across diverse contexts, the book examines the way in which conception, gestation mothering labor and care are being mobilized across national boundaries. Bringing together demographers, sociologists, lawyers, public health and social theorists, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of globalization studies, development studies, gender studies, feminist politics, political economy, human rights, and social policy.

Mothers, Mothering, and Globalization is an anthology that cogently and powerfully examines the diverse and complex experiences of motherhood and mothering from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. The lucid analysis of how globalization influences the lives of mothers, especially in regard to cultural, political, historical, social, and economic factors, provides a compelling examination of the myriad of relationships between mothering and globalization. The collection also surveys multiple approaches to mothers, mothering, and globalization and contributes to a nascent dialogue through its interrogation of the impact of globalization on mothers and mothering practices through the lenses of feminist ideologies; literary criticism; and cultural, social, and economic analyses.

This book provides cutting edge information on safe motherhood in a global context. The chapters focus on research, program development and implementation, and policy dealing with various aspects of pregnancy, labor and delivery. Safe motherhood is a critical issue since healthy, safe motherhood is the prerequisite for a healthy, productive society. Writing about the situation in their countries, the authors are from Eastern Europe, America, Asia and Africa and are academic scholars and health practitioners. The book is multidisciplinary with scholars from sociology, gender studies, economics, social policy, social geography, population management and political science. Topics include lactation policy and misunderstandings of lactations in African countries and in the United States; postnatal stress disorder that is either understudied or not considered as a problem in many developing countries; potential causes of a decline of maternal health in democratizing states; the effect of geographical environment on reproductive health; and revelation of mysteries of consequences of pre-birth pain in the early life of children. Case studies provide examples of successful model programs. Solutions offered are based on utilizing available resources and technology in ways that maximize education and training of local health professionals and family members. This book was published as a special issue of Marriage and Family Review.

The word “mother” traditionally meant a woman who bears and nurtures a child. In recent decades, changes in social norms and public policy as well as advances in reproductive technologies and the development of markets for procreation and care have radically expanded definitions of motherhood. But while maternity has become a matter of choice for more women, the freedom to make reproductive decisions is unevenly distributed. Restrictive policies, socioeconomic disadvantages, cultural mores, and discrimination force some women into motherhood and prevent others from caring for their children. Reassembling Motherhood brings together contributors from across the disciplines to consider the transformation of motherhood as both an identity and a role. It examines how the processes of bearing and rearing a child are being restructured as reproductive labor and care work change around the globe. The authors examine issues such as artificial reproductive technologies, surrogacy, fetal ultrasounds, adoption, nonparental care, and the legal status of kinship, showing how complex chains of procreation and childcare have simultaneously generated greater liberty and new forms of constraint. Emphasizing the tension between the liberalization of procreation and care on the one hand, and the limits to their democratization due to race, class, and global inequality on the other, the book highlights debates that have emerged as these multifaceted changes have led to both the fragmentation and reassembling of motherhood.

Brings together research from the Global North and the Global South to illuminate how contemporary motherhood is changed by the processes of globalization.

With reference to Developing countries.

Women make up a majority of the Filipino workforce laboring overseas. Their frequent employment in nurturing, maternal jobs--nanny, maid, caretaker, nurse--has found expression in a significant but understudied body of Filipino and Filipino American literature and cinema. Harrod J. Suarez's innovative readings of this cultural production explores issues of diaspora, gender, and labor. He details the ways literature and cinema play critical roles in encountering, addressing, and problematizing what we think we know about overseas Filipina workers. Though often seen as compliant subjects, the Filipina mother can also destabilize knowledge production that serves the interests of global empire, capitalism, and Philippine nationalism. Suarez examines canonical writers like Nick Joaquín, Carlos Bulosan, and Jessica Hagedorn to explore this disruption and understand the maternal specificity of the construction of overseas Filipina workers. The result is readings that develop new ways of thinking through diasporic maternal labor that engages with the sociological imaginary.