Description
This is a book about transformation, about the meanings mothers of “imperfect” children give to motherhood and disability in an age in which infants are commodified and new technologies hold out the promise of “perfect” babies. In an era in which specific traits of babies increasingly appear to Westerners in terms of choice, how do mothers of infants and toddlers with disabilities – the children few would actively choose – make sense of their motherhood? The book is based on anthropological field research at a site at which children were evaluated by physicians, and on in-depth interviews with mothers who received “bad news.” An ideal short book for teaching courses in anthropology, sociology, disability studies, and women’s studies. Book jacket.