Mother-Work: Women, Child Welfare, and the State, 1890-1930
Molly Ladd-Taylor
Early in the twentieth century, maternal and child welfare evolved from a private family responsibility into a matter of national policy. Molly Ladd-Taylor explores both the private and public aspects of child-rearing, using the relationship between them to cast new light on the histories of motherhood, the welfare state, and women's activism in the United States.
Ladd-Taylor argues that mother-work, "women's unpaid work of reproduction and caregiving," motivated women's public activism and "maternalist" ideology. Mothering experiences led women to become active in the development of public health, education, and welfare services. In turn, the advent of these services altered mothering in ... Read more
Show LessProduct Details
About Molly Ladd-Taylor
Reviews for Mother-Work: Women, Child Welfare, and the State, 1890-1930
Sonya Michel, editor of Mothers of a New World: Maternalist Politics and the Origins of Welfare States