Maternal Practice

The Three Interests

The use of the word maternal in the term maternal practice is not intended to be ascribed solely to women; rather, the word is used to acknowledge women's historical place in this work. Maternal practice, as a theorized and politicized concept, resists the assignment of the feminine to the maternal, and posits that any distinct maternal thinking in women is simply indicative of the historical and cultural place of the woman-as-maternal. As a politicized discipline, maternal practice is open to, and welcoming of, participation from both genders.

Practices are disciplined responses to a reality that makes certain demands. For maternal practice, the reality is the child, as well as the historical, cultural, technological, and geographical setting. Ruddick argues that preserving the life of the child, nurturing the growth of the child, and training the child are the three key interests of maternal practice that shape responses and govern maternal practice, and within each are numerous modes and types of maternal thinking. Not all interests are responded to equally, and in fact, there are situations and individuals that demand alternative or nonresponses. Maternal practice as an ideal says nothing of the relative skill, dedication, integrity or manner with which such practices are conceptualized or performed.

Experts write that societies that recognize children as needing protection, nurturing, and training have maternal practice.

Preservation is considered the most primary of the interests, as the child demands to have her life preserved, and the social group demands the next generation be created and sustained. The particular moment at which a life comes into existence subject to much debate, but once this life is commenced, maternal practice looks to physical, emotional, and intellectual growth as indicators of successful preservation. The mother employs various cognitive capacities and virtues in order to achieve this, including the virtues of humility and cheerfulness in the face of uncontrollable nature and circumstance.

Fostering growth, or nurturance, is the second interest in maternal practice. It requires that mothers balance their judgment, both holding children close and welcoming change. This includes respect for the child's unfolding mind and selfhood. Maternal practice that fosters growth requires that mothers accept the complexity, ambiguity, and multiplicities of their unique discipline—the nurturance of growth in children. This work is supported by the narratives within their maternal practice, their children, and with other mothers.

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