Reconceptualising mothering: mothers and infants in crisis in the Kimberley, Western Australia

Good mothering is often understood as instinctive. If a child is born deformed, becomes sick and dies, or is killed, such events are commonly attributed to the fault of the mother. When this perspective of motherhood is projected onto Aboriginal mothers in contemporary Australia it becomes particularly oppressive. If child health and welfare is an index of the quality of mothering, the Aboriginal picture gives cause for much concern