My first book, Motherdom: Breaking Free from Bad Science and Good Mother Myths, was published in the UK and US in March 2025 by Verso. It tells the story of how science and nature have been weaponised against women through Good Mother myths. These myths are an assortment of narratives, ideologies and stereotypes, which are deployed to censure mothers and blame them for societal ills. My book argues that we must replace Good Mother myths with ‘motherdom’, a more expansive conception of motherhood which values and respects the different ways people raise their children. Instead of finding fault with mothers, motherdom shifts our focus to the relationships and resources children need to flourish.
Motherdom draws upon my expertise as a researcher and a postnatal practitioner. I have written extensively about early parenthood and postnatal issues for NCT publications.
My research overview 'Supporting women in the transition to motherhood' was published by the NCT's journal Perspective and is a set text for the NCT's/University of Worcester's "Birth and Beyond" degree. I have also edited and reviewed NCT content. While I was on maternity leave in 2008/9, I edited Clapham NCT’s quarterly magazine Special Delivery.
As well as contributing to many research reports during my career, I have also written articles and edited publications on research, such as Ipsos’ Understanding Society: A Woman’s World.