Mothering and the State: Infant Co-Sleeping As a Case Study in Superficial Paternalism
Open AccessThroughout American history, the relationship between the state and families has vacillated between various forms of control, paternalism, and neglect. The state’s commitment to promoting a specific type of family unit and related childrearing practices while simultaneously denying material support to families has created a dynamic in which the state engages in a sort of superficial paternalism. The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) “Safe to Sleep” campaign and co-sleeping guidance, intended to decrease the prevalence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths, is a site where this superficial paternalism can be observed. Examining the NIH campaign materials and dialogues among caregivers on the forum site Reddit, this paper identifies how these state guidelines impact caregivers' actual and perceived parenting choices and reflect the state’s tradition of exerting control over families while neglecting to provide material support.The campaign’s lack of nuance and overbroad recommendations make it simultaneously inadequate and over-prescriptive, leaving caregivers (most often mothers) to navigate complicated guidance and science on their own. By conflating SIDS with other types of infant death and prescribing individual solutions rather than emphasizing structural risk factors, the campaign frames infant mortality as an individual rather than a systemic problem, absolving the state of any responsibility in prevention and placing that responsibility (and subsequent blame) on parents.
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.