Perfect Motherhood: Science And Childrearing In America

"With skill and imagination, Rima Apple tracks the evolution of scientific advice to mothers through a prodigious array of sources. The book honors the rich particularity of women's experiences and thoughtfully examines the relationships between mothers and medical experts."--Barbara Melosh, author of Strangers and Kin: The American Way of Adoption "Clearly and comprehensively, Apple demonstrates how mothers have balanced the latest scientific data about childrearing with their basic maternal instincts. Both Apple--and her moms--have done an excellent job "--Barron H. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D., author of The Breast Cancer Wars Parenting today is virtually synonymous with worry. We want to ensure that our children are healthy, that they get a good education, and that they grow up to be able to cope with the challenges of modern life. In our anxiety, we are keenly aware of our inability to know what is best for our children. When should we toilet train? What is the best way to encourage a fussy child to eat? How should we protect our children from disease and injury? Before the nineteenth century, maternal instinct--a mother's natural "know-how"--was considered the only tool necessary for effective childrearing. Over the past two hundred years, however, science has entered the realm of motherhood in increasingly significant ways. In Perfect Motherhood, Rima D. Apple shows how the growing belief that mothers need to be savvy about the latest scientific directives has shifted the role of expert away from the mother and toward the professional establishment. Apple, however, argues that most women today are finding ways to negotiate among the abundance of scientific recommendations, their ownknowledge, and the reality of their daily lives. Rima D. Apple is Vilas Life Cycle Professor in the school of human ecology and the women's studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.