Migrant Mothers Research Articles

Blurred lines of participation: nexus analytical tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in change-oriented research projects

Abstract This article discusses nexus analysis (NA) as a research strategy that provides specific tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in participatory research. While many research traditions use participatory methods and problematise what it means to participate in research, thus far the potential of nexus analytical concepts as tools to mediate such a reflection has not been discussed explicitly. In order to illustrate how NA promotes such reflections, we draw on four linguistic projects in multilingual settings that deal with (1) preservice teachers’ learning to design for language learning in hybrid environments on a university course, (2) plurilingual and collaborative teaching approaches to writing in language classrooms in secondary schools, (3) language socialisation of migrant mothers, and (4) family language policy in single-parent families. With this article, we demonstrate how the nexus analytical conceptual tools of ‘zone of identification’, ‘historical body’ and ‘interaction order’ facilitate reflection upon the researcher’s participatory engagement in various stages of the research process. We show that the lines between the roles of researchers and participants are blurry, in particular in research projects that focus on introducing social change. Additionally, we highlight the importance of reflecting on power relations between researchers and participants and how control over project direction and decisions can impact the representation and involvement of community members.

The Migrant Mother’s Silence in Her Mother Tongue as a Mothering Strategy

Abstract Historically silenced, literary mothers’ voices are finally now being given their due, but it is noteworthy that migrant mothers’ literary voices are yet to be fully heard. This essay focuses on literary representations of migrant mothers who refuse to speak their own mother tongue to their children. It looks at two texts by women writers originating directly or indirectly from two post-Soviet Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania. The texts in question are the novel Stalinin lehmät (Stalin’s Cows) (2003) by Sofi Oksanen and the essay “Motinų tylėjimas” (“The Silence of the Mothers”) (2004) by Dalia Staponkutė. Drawing on postcolonial theory, memory studies, and transnational feminist theory, I suggest that the migrant mother’s silence in her own mother tongue connotes several unarticulated realities: the trauma of colonization, the negotiation of post-Soviet migrant femininity, and patriarchal gender regimes. I argue that the migrant mothers represented in both texts withhold their mother tongue as a mothering strategy designed to socialize their children to successfully negotiate the transnational, multilingual spaces they will navigate as adults.

Experiences of migrant seasonal agricultural worker mothers in earthquakes: A phenomenological study.

Seasonal agricultural migration leads to both economic hardship and humanitarian challenges. Individuals involved in this migration face severe poverty and deprivation, with mothers critical participants in agrarian work, being especially vulnerable due to challenging conditions and family responsibilities. This study explores the experiences of migratory seasonal agricultural worker mothers and their children, particularly how the earthquake in Turkey impacted them on February 6, 2023. This descriptive phenomenological study was conducted with seasonal agricultural worker mothers who participated in hazelnut harvest in northern Turkey between August and September 2023. Study data were obtained from 22 mothers who agreed to participate. Data were analyzed using the MAXQDA 2022 qualitative data analysis program. It has been determined that the earthquake affects both mothers and children, creates confusion in mothers, creates fear, anxiety, and insecurity in children, and causes behavioral problems such as insomnia and loss of appetite. It has also been determined that positive changes occur in mothers' parenting practices and strengthen family ties. It has been revealed that mothers derive their psychological resilience from their belief systems and social interactions. It was concluded that earthquake experiences positively and negatively affected migratory seasonal agricultural worker mothers and caused emotional and behavioral problems in children.

At a Remove: The Curious State(lessness) of Migrant Mothering in Novels by Shumona Sinha and Nathacha Appanah

At a Remove: The Curious State(lessness) of Migrant Mothering in Novels by Shumona Sinha and Nathacha Appanah

Anti‐Imperial Autoethnographies of Family Separation: Feminist Solidarities Against Imperial Bordering in the UK

AbstractAnti‐imperial autoethnography is an important practice for critiquing and reflecting upon encounters with imperial bordering and its junctions with the neoliberal‐corporate university. In this article, we analyse our children's visa rejections to the UK, where we work and study as immigrant academics. We argue that the Home Office's policy of what constitutes a child's “welfare” produces racialised, gendered, and classist processes through which children are legally estranged from their primary carer when they immigrate for work unaccompanied by the other parent. This heteropatriarchal policy disproportionately impacts working migrant mothers. Academic carers can be further impacted by corporate university practices that eschew institutional agency and responsibility, including by individualising interpretations of visa rejections or presuming to abstain wholesale from matters concerning migrant family welfare. We reflect on how transnational feminist friendships and solidarities challenge imperial bordering and the interfaces of border enforcement with academic institutions and spaces, and acknowledge the importance of ongoing activist work to abolish borders from within the university.

Mismatched: Intensive Mothering in China's Urban Villages

As the PRC is woven ever more tightly into transnational circuits of culture and capital, Chinese working-class subjectivities—like middle-class ones, but also distinctively—become (re)produced through increasingly transnational processes. This includes the new reach of global discourses like intensive mothering into China’ s migrant-worker population. Intensive mothering has long been learned as the dominant culture of motherhood in North America. Along with other products and ideas, this ideology of intensive mothering is imported to China’ s new generation of mothers, supported by the state’ s emphasis on scientific child-rearing and the social media boom. Euro-American middle-class mothers, depicted as ideal mothers who abide by expert knowledge and cultivate their children’ s talent accordingly, are represented as counterexamples to traditional Chinese mothers in mass media. Migrant mothers in the urban villages of China have learned and internalized this ideology of intensive mothering along with their rural-to-urban migration through reading and interactions with medical and educational experts. Based on eight months of ethnographic research in two urban villages in southern China, this article presents research into how migrant mothers become trapped in the mismatches between the Euro-American, urban middle-class ideology of intensive mothering and their own position in the social class hierarchy. With limited economic and cultural resources, learning and internalizing intensive mothering disempowers migrant mothers and makes them feel even less competent. In response, they find other alternatives to reassert their agency.

Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Experiences of Racialised Brazilian Women in Portugal: An Analysis of Obstetric Violence as Gender-Based Violence

As gender-based violence, obstetric violence is a complex phenomenon that represents a matter for debate worldwide. The main objective of this exploratory study is to understand the experiences of obstetric violence during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period of racialised Brazilian women in the Portuguese National Health System. Using a qualitative case study research approach, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with ten racialised Brazilian women who gave birth in Portugal. A thematic qualitative analysis was used. The findings reveal significant cases of obstetric violence, which include the complexities and lack of support, assistance and monitoring networks, structural inequalities, neglect, and intersectional discriminatory practices based on racial and cultural prejudices, as well as reflection. These experiences not only affect the physical health of mothers but also have profound psychological and emotional consequences. This study highlights the urgent need for culturally sensitive care and the implementation of policies to prevent obstetric violence, ensuring that the rights and dignity of migrant mothers are upheld. By highlighting these critical issues, this study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on maternal health care and promote social justice for these historically marginalised groups.

Breastfeeding duration, children’s diet and physical activity in immigrant children living in Lisbon

Abstract Background In 2023, 25% of children born in the Lisbon metropolitan area were from foreign mothers. Children of immigrant parents often face an unbalanced diet and unhealthy lifestyle, preventing them from reaching their full potential. The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between migrant status and breastfeeding duration, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity in children living in the Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. Methods Cross-sequential cohort study in Lisbon Region. Between May 2022 and April 2024, 729 children (49.4% immigrants) born in 2018 and 2020 were enrolled in the study. Data were collected in a face-to-face interview with the parents using a structured questionnaire with information on children’s diet (fruit and vegetable consumption) and physical activity. We used X2, Mann-Whitney U and t-tests to compare immigrant and non-immigrant children. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with a 5% level were estimated by logistic regression. Results Immigrant children (49.4%) live in socio-economically disadvantaged families. Breastfeeding practices are more common among migrant mothers with a higher median duration of exclusive breastfeeding (6 versus 4 months, p < 0.001) and a higher median duration of breastfeeding (14 versus 8 months, p < 0.001). Parental migration background is associated with the frequency of fruit (p = 0.039) and vegetable (p < 0.01) consumption and with the practice of physical activity (p < 0.01). The odds of consuming three or more portions of fruit are 1.37 times higher for non-immigrant children, and the odds of consuming two portions of vegetables are higher for non-immigrants than immigrants (aOR=2.04, p < 0.01). Practicing sports is most frequent in non-immigrants (aOR =2.25; p < 0.01). Conclusions Migrant status was associated with a less healthy lifestyle in childhood for children living in the Lisbon metropolitan area. Key messages • Breastfeeding is an essential source of nutrition for children, especially in socio-economically disadvantaged families. • The migrant status is often associated with inequalities in childhood, challenging immigrant children to achieve their full potential.

Co-creating the intervention ‘MAMAACT’ for improved care for pregnant migrant women in Denmark

Abstract Background The MAMAACT intervention was developed as a response to documentation of ethnic and social inequities in stillbirth in Denmark, despite free and universal access to antenatal care. The MAMAACT intervention aimed to reduce stillbirth in migrant families by improving communication about pregnancy complication during antenatal care. Methods The intervention consisted of a training program for midwives and health education materials. It was implemented at a structural level (training of midwives) and, through strengthened needs-based communication during antenatal care, the aim was to improve the health literacy of the women. 19 of the 20 Danish maternity wards participated in the study in 2018-19 and a comprehensive evaluation was conducted. The intervention was co-created with midwifery managers, midwives, and migrant women. Results The management and selected clinical midwives participated in the design of the midwifery training and the health education material as well as the intervention’s implementation and recruitment strategies for the evaluation. As representatives of the target group, a partnership with the non-profit organization Bydelsmødre was initiated. Bydelsmødre trains migrant mothers living in socially deprived areas to help vulnerable migrant women. Evening sessions were conducted with a specific group of women in their community, where the intervention components, the recruitment to the evaluation, and the interpretation of evaluation findings were discussed. A significant contribution was a video explaining the migrant experiences of becoming a mother in Denmark used in the midwifery training. MAMAACT researchers were invited to present the evaluation at the annual assembly for Bydelsmødre organization in 2019. Conclusions The partnership with Bydelsmødre provided a strong voice for migrant women, enhancing engagement with the intervention, recruitment for the trial, and its real-world relevance.

The experiences of older migrant mothers and grandmothers with intergenerational solidarity in their transnational families

AbstractThe role of grandparents in providing support to their migrant adult children is well researched within the intergenerational cross‐border solidarity literature. Studies highlight the gendered care roles assumed by ‘left behind’ grandparents, usually women, who provide hands‐on caregiving to their young grandchildren. However, there is limited research on the supportive economic roles of older migrant women who help ‘left behind’ families navigate economically unpredictable circumstances through remittance transfers. This article makes a contribution by exploring the economic roles of older mothers and grandmothers who participate in the international labour market as paid care workers to support their families ‘back home.’ It draws on ethnographic research with Romanian women in their late 50s and 60s in Italy. Insight is gained into the experiences with transnational care and mobility of older mothers and grandmothers. More specifically, how expectations and demands for intergenerational solidarity in their families conditions women's migration projects, including its temporalities and the distribution of economic risks and responsibilities within the transnational family.

Engaging in emotional and cultural work: Migrant mothers’ experiences of school-based sexuality education

Objective: By looking at the school-based sexuality education experiences of migrant mothers in Tiohtià:ke-Montréal (Canada), this article aims to shed light on the diverse and often invisible ways in which parents become involved in their child’s sexuality education. Method: Qualitative virtual asynchronous focus groups. Results: The findings shed light on the different ways in which migrant mothers become engaged in their children’s sexuality education. The results showed that participants engaged with cultural perspectives by discussing sexuality education topics with their child, thereby mitigating the power imbalance between themselves and the school by building on the parent–child relationship. Mothers also made their voices heard by actively becoming involved in change. Conclusion: Aligned with the principles of culturally responsive education and school–family partnership, the analysis and discussion raise awareness about the limitations of existing school-based sexuality education curricula, particularly when it comes to recognising and empowering parents as primary educators. Moving forward, the research urges educational institutions and actors to learn from the challenges faced by migrant parents and the strategies they employ. This learning can then be used to inform the development of school-based sexuality education curricula and policies so as to ensure that they are more responsive to the needs of migrant students and families.

“The mother seems to traumatize her child”: Examining empathy, denial, and responsibility in day-to-day encounters of families and staff in immigration detention in Canada

This paper examines encounters of mothers and their children with detention facility staff during our fieldwork in immigration detention centres in Canada. We sought to understand how detainees and institutional staff understand each other and their roles within the broader system. Using a critical ethnographic frame that views the inner psychic worlds of subjects as contingent upon larger systems of power and oppression we organize our data around narrative and content themes. Our findings suggest that guards and staff see their roles as protectors of children, even as they communicate implicitly that these families are risks. Further, we propose that staff tend to project the aggressor onto the Other, in this case, migrant mothers, as a way to cope with the moral distress of witnessing the suffering of detained children, and with the burden of potential complicity. By describing how empathy, denial and responsibility are negotiated in these custodial spaces, we analyze the ways these micropolitical encounters can illuminate larger trends in the representation and reception of migrants with important implications for mental health care and border control practices and policy more broadly.

Responsive feeding practices among Arabic and Mongolian speaking migrant mothers in Australia: A qualitative study.

Establishing healthy feeding habits during infancy is crucial for optimal growth. However, certain parental feeding and cultural practices might hinder the development of children's healthy eating behaviours. This research explored responsive feeding practices among migrant mothers in Australia. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in their native language with 20 Arabic and 20 Mongolian-speaking migrant mothers with children under 2 years old or currently pregnant. Thematic analysis was conducted using the framework method. Both cultural groups followed a variety of feeding practices, including on demand responsive feeding or structured schedules. Arabic-speaking mothers tended to demonstrate responsive feeding practices more frequently than Mongolian-speaking mothers, except for those using formula feeding, who consistently followed a fixed feeding routine. When introducing solid foods, mothers from both groups often overlooked their babies' hunger and satiety cues, frequently pressuring their children to finish their entire plate. One cited reason for this was the challenge parents faced in identifying such cues. Arabic-speaking mothers often supplemented with formula top-ups after introducing solid foods, due to the belief that breast milk or solid foods alone might not sufficiently nourish their infants. Additionally, some Arabic-speaking mothers used food-based rewards to encourage eating. Mongolian mothers expressed a cultural preference for chubby babies, a potential reason why they may have been inclined to pressure-feed their children. Moreover, both groups reported using digital devices to distract their children during meals. This study highlights the necessity of tailoring future resources and services related to responsive feeding practices to accommodate diverse literacy levels and cultural backgrounds.

200 - Exploring responsive feeding practices: A qualitative study among Arabic and Mongolian speaking migrant mothers in Australia

200 - Exploring responsive feeding practices: A qualitative study among Arabic and Mongolian speaking migrant mothers in Australia

Determinants of prenatal breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy among Burmese migrant pregnant mothers in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThe study aimed to explore the determinants of prenatal breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy among Burmese migrant pregnant mothers in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand.DesignThe data were collected as part of...

Chinese and Indian migrant mothers’ perceptions and experiences of utilising maternal and early childhood healthcare services in Aotearoa New Zealand: a qualitative descriptive study

ABSTRACT Although the health system in Aotearoa New Zealand is based on universalism and equity, disparities exist in the uptake and quality of health care for ethnic-migrant mothers and their children. This qualitative descriptive study explored the perceptions and experiences of Chinese and Indian migrant mothers (N = 24) accessing maternal and early childhood healthcare services. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were generated. Migrant mothers displayed limited awareness of services available for themselves and their children, and experienced difficulties navigating the complex and fragmented health system. Transnational ties influenced mothers’ expectations of care and health seeking practices for themselves and their children. Mothers shared suggestions for a system that is inclusive of migrants’ needs, such as offering orientation sessions to raise awareness and ease navigation challenges, having interpreters available and translated resources to support language challenges, and improve postpartum support as mothers adapt to motherhood. To improve health equity, it is important that national policy supports improvements to the health system to address the challenges faced by ethnic-migrant families when navigating health services.

Subjectivities of highly skilled lead, tied, and equal migrant mothers

AbstractProfessionally mobile individuals tend to migrate for career purposes at the prime age of reproduction. This article focuses on highly skilled migrant mothers from different cultural backgrounds living and working in Geneva. The article argues that they inhabit and internalize their identities as―lead, tied, and/or equal―migrants and this impacts ways in which they come to develop their professional and maternal subjectivities. Highly skilled migrant mothers who identified with their tied migrant status developed a neoliberal professional and maternal subjectivity, whereas those who had internalized the lead or equal migrant ideal subjectivities developed liberal feminist professional and maternal selves. The typology of postfeminist/neoliberal versus liberal feminist migrant mothers' subjectivities helps us to better understand the feminist potentials for migration of highly skilled mothers.

Ideals and realities: Chinese singleton daughters negotiating family size preferences and migrant motherhood in Spain

ABSTRACT Chinese young women’s fertility choices have attracted growing interest in the last years, however, the effects of women’s singleton status and transnational motherhood experience on their fertility behaviours remain understudied. Using 12 qualitative interviews with Chinese migrant mothers in Spain, we firstly examine how women’s family size preferences are constructed by their singleton status associated with changing gender norms and strong normative expectations of future family caregiving obligations; secondly, we explore the challenges faced by participants towards realizing their fertility expectations in transnational spaces from a gendered perspective. We find that although singleton status can contribute to women’s larger ideal family size, their gendered roles as only-daughters and migrant mothers increase care responsibilities, which negatively influence their childbearing decisions. By situating singleton daughters’ experiences within a broader institutional and sociocultural context, our study offers a unique opportunity to examine how changing gender norms, care, and responsibility structure fertility norms of one generation at the micro level.

Migrant Mothers Need Their Rights, Futures Safeguarded

Migrant Mothers Need Their Rights, Futures Safeguarded

The prevalence of preterm and low birth weight infants among migrant women in the Pearl River Delta region, China: a population-based birth cohort study

BackgroundThe existing literature evaluating the association between neonatal morbidity and migrant status presents contradictory results. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) among newborns from local and migrant women in China’s Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.MethodsIn this observational population-based study, we included all live singleton deliveries from PRD region local women and migrant women. Data were sourced from the Guangdong Medical Birth Registry Information System between Jan 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2020. Women were categorized into three groups by maternal migrant status: local women from PRD region, migrant women from Guangdong province or from other provinces. The outcome variables that were examined included two adverse birth outcomes: PTB and LBW. The association between the risk of PTB and LBW and maternal migrant status was assessed using logistic regression.ResultsDuring 2014–2020, 5,219,133 single live deliveries were recorded, corresponding 13.22% to local women and the rest to migrant women coming from Guangdong (53.51%) and other provinces (33.26%). PTB prevalence was highest among local women (5.79%), followed by migrant women from Guangdong (5.29%), and the lowest among migrants from other provinces (4.95%). This association did not change after including maternal age, infant sex, delivery mode, and birth season in the models. Compared to local women, migrant women from other provinces had a lower risk of LBW (4.00% vs. 4.98%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of PTB and LBW was higher among local women than migrants. The odds of delivery PTB and LBW were higher for women who were age ≥ 35. Among the three maternal migration groups, the age-LBW association displayed a typical U-shaped pattern, with those in the youngest (16–24 years) and oldest (≥ 35) age categories exhibiting the higher odds of delivering a LBW neonate. With respect to infant sex, the prevalence of PTB was significantly higher in males than females among the three maternal migration groups. An opposite trend was found for LBW, and the prevalence of LBW was higher in females among the three maternal migration groups.ConclusionThe findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the epidemiology of PTB and LBW among migrant women. Our study suggests that it is the health and robust nature of migrant mothers that predisposes them to better birth outcomes. It is important to recognize that the results of this study, while supportive of the healthy migrant effect, cannot be considered definitive without some exploration of motivation for moving and changes in lifestyle postmigration.