When Alex Bollen had her first baby the fear of being a bad mother made her guilty and
anxious. A researcher with twenty years’ experience she went looking for answers. To her
surprise the studies she looked at were exaggerated and misrepresented in the media forming
the foundation for what she calls Good Mother myths. These myths are an assortment of
narratives ideologies and stereotypes deployed to censure mothers and blame them for every
societal ill. Incensed by the way bad science is used to shame mothers Alex Bollen decided to
set the record straight. With meticulous research and keen insight Motherdom exposes both the
shaky science and unjustified prescriptions about how mothers should ‘naturally’ behave.
Competing visions of birth – ‘natural’ versus ‘medical’ – mean women can be criticised whatever
happens raising the odds that birth will be a damaging even deadly experience. Mothers are
judged and belittled whether they breast- or bottle-feed their babies. Bogus claims about brain
development and dodgy attachment theories mean that whatever mothers do it is never enough.
This has to stop. We must replace Good Mother myths with a realistic approach to parenting.
Alex Bollen proposes ‘motherdom’ a more expansive conception of motherhood which values and
respects the different ways people raise their children. Instead of finding fault with mothers
Motherdom shifts our focus to the relationships and resources children need to flourish.
