Patricia Hamilton 
Black Mothers and Attachment Parenting 
A Black Feminist Analysis of Intensive Mothering in Britain and Canada

Attachment parenting is an increasingly popular style of childrearing that emphasises ‘natural’ activities such as extended breastfeeding, bedsharing and babywearing. Such parenting activities are framed as the key to addressing a variety of social ills. Parents’ choices are thus made deeply significant with the potential to guarantee the well-being of future societies. Examining black mothers’ engagements with attachment parenting, Hamilton shows the limitations of this neoliberal approach. Unique in its intersectional analysis of contemporary mothering ideologies, this outstanding book fills a gap in the literature on parenting culture studies, drawing on black feminist theorizing to analyse intensive mothering practices and policies. Black Mothers and Attachment Parenting is shortlisted for the 2021 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize.

About the author

Patricia Hamilton is a Marie Curie Research Fellow in the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the University College London. Her current project is an intersectional examination of parental leave policy development and use in the UK.