Abstract
Motherhood is a phenomenon that is defined by sociocultural values. Based on the current cultural expectations of motherhood, any responsibility for children is attributed to the mother. Motherhood is seen as the permanent duty of the woman, where mothers are often blamed by society for the health and well-being of their children. This affects mothers in many ways. Fentiman’s book presents this important subject about mothers and children with a different framework.
Blaming Mothers focuses on the health of children living in America, the health-threatening risks, and the legal implications associated with children. This book consists of four parts. The first part explores the multiple ways in which mothers are blamed for risking their children’s health and explores the psychosocial processes of risk construction, demonstrating how they interact with substantive legal principles to make a singular focus on mothers both possible and likely. At the same time, this part situates the health of American children in the historical and comparative context and it examines the impact of fathers, other men, the government, and social factors on children’s health. The second part of the book includes four specific settings in which maternal behavior is singled out for special attention by the media, health care professionals, government, and the law. This part also explores pregnancy; the myriad ways in which media, health care professionals, and government have exaggerated the risks that prospective mothers can pose to their children; the current debate over breastfeeding; and which mothers are criminally prosecuted for failing to protect their children. The third chapter addresses two external threats to children’s health: environmental hazards and infectious diseases. For example, lead is hazardous to children, causing severe and irreversible cognitive and nervous system impairment, as well as behavioral problems. At the same time, this part has a chapter that examines the role of mandatory vaccination laws in protecting public health. The fourth chapter consists of comprehensive review of the risks to children’s health, the sources of health risks to children, and the connections among them. In this context, the book aims to discuss what is necessary for children to be healthy at all ages from birth and to identify the risk factors for children’s health and to offer solutions to them.
The main theme of the book is to explain the effects of mothers on children’s health. That’s why this book is questioning why there are so many mothers in the cases that are about American children’s health. Fentiman argues: “The enormous impact of poverty, genetics, environmental toxins, fathers, government, and private institutions on children’s health is largely ignored” (p. 3). The author finds the American legal and political systems have failed to protect all children from the risks, and psychological processes and unconscious bias influence the decisions taken in these cases. In these contexts, the book offers unique solutions: Mothers must be judged independently of psychological and unconscious prejudices and there must be changes in American law. One of the central strengths of this book is to present different unique solutions and policy implications.
In general, the book is written in accessible language and the chapters are mutually supportive. A clear plan of the book is given in the first chapter of the book and this information is detailed in the following parts. According to the scope of the book, problems have been defined, examples have been shared and suggestions have been presented.
The greatest contribution of the book is its critique of American law over children’s health. It also criticizes the fact that mothers are held liable for their children’s health. These critiques are illustrated with rich examples. At the same time, it offers solutions for these problems.
The book is strong and this strength lies in the fact that it presents numerous examples and actual cases about the subject of the book. The main weakness lies in its treatment of culture. While the effects of culture are mentioned, they have not been adequately addressed. The book would have benefited from a discussion on sociocultural descriptions of children, women, and mothers.
Overall, Blaming Mothers is a useful and important resource for all readers, especially students, who want to take a different view of the rules of law. This book can be used to obtain information on health law, risks to children’s health, and to consider actual cases. It challenges generally accepted legal rules and offers a feminist perspective. This book can be used in graduate courses, especially in departments of law, women, and gender studies.