What it really means to be a mother today

Elinor Cleghorn’s new book reframes the history of motherhood, drawing on the words and stories of real women. Mothering, she writes, is a continual history — always being written as the work of affirming and sustaining life continues. After 18 years of mothering, she sees her children as their own people while recognising the countless acts of tending that made that possible: “I am here, I am yours.” She acknowledges the privileges that shaped her experience: material resources, a safe home, and support from friends and family meant she did not fear how to feed, clothe, or shelter her children, and she was able to pursue a career.

When pregnant the first time she had the right to choose whether to continue the pregnancy, and the NHS met her health needs; she gave birth in hospital with midwives, and her second son, born after a risky labour, spent his first 10 days in an NHS maternity ward.

United Kingdom

elinor cleghorn, motherhood, mothering, history, nhs, midwives, maternity ward, pregnancy, risky labour, family support