What does mothering mean in different cultures and societies? This book extensively applies biographical and narrative research methods to mothering from international perspectives. This edited collection engages with changing attitudes and approaches to mothering from women’s individual biographical experiences, illuminating how socially anticipated tasks of mothering shaped through interlinking state, media, religious beliefs and broader society are reflected in their identities and individual life choices. Considering trust, rapport, reflexivity and self-care, this collection advances methodological practice in the study of mothers, carers and childless women’s lives.

This book explores the experiences of women who are childless by choice in contemporary Ireland, to gain a greater understanding of the factors that influence their decision making, to examine how others react to that decision, and to consider the strategies women engage in to manage the reactions of others. The book is based on detailed in-depth interviews with a group of twelve Irish women who have consciously chosen not to have children. The women speak of their childhoods, personalities, relationships and careers and describe how these shaped their decision making. The book links the women's accounts with literature on the values and belief systems around procreation and motherhood which were prevalent throughout Ireland and chronicles the stigma and negative appraisal associated with women's voluntary childlessness. Although the book is written from a sociological perspective, the merger of theory and practical insights make it accessible to a wide audience. The aim it to foreground the women's voices and generate a greater awareness and understanding of women's voluntary childlessness.