Price: $34.95
Page Count: 288
Publication Date: February 2016
ISBN: 978-1-926452-78-4
Demeter Press took on the challenge of discussing multiples through On Mothering Multiples: Complexities and Possibilities, a book that promised to “(re)explore, (re)present, and make meaning of the process of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering experiences with multiples”. Under the editorship of Kathy Mantas, and through diverse contributions of research, artwork and narrative pieces, this topic is explored with diverse voices that elicit nuance towards a subject that often suffers from cliché and overt charm. Daring to taunt the reader who may be beguiled by the blessing of multiples with an unflinching look at subjects such as fetal demise, disability, post-partum depression, the beauty and the beast of the post-twin maternal body, and the society’s obsession and derision with multiples conceived through assistive reproductive technology, this book is a foundational text on the topic of the messiness of multiple births and mothering. This collection manages to be both intensely personal while maintaining the scholarly distance necessary to offer an important contribution to the field of motherhood studies as well as intersecting with grief work and disability studies. Published in 2016, this book remains provocative, and stealth in how it unfurls its wisdom, providing both clarity and further complication on this subject with more insight to gain with each revisit to the text.
Dr. Jessica Jennrich is the Director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity at Grand Valley State University has written for various creative and scholarly outlets on topics of mothering, feminism and social justice: https://www.gvsu.edu/cwge/our-staff-5.htm
There has been an increase of twin births and higher order multiple birth babies born in Canada and around the world in the past few decades. On Mothering Multiples: Complexities and Possibilities seeks to (re)explore, (re)present, and make meaning of the process of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering experiences with multiples. It features a collection of scholarly, creative non-fiction, and visual essays from a wide range of disciplines and cultural perspectives. Additionally, these scholarly and more artful accounts contribute to a body of literature that although present is also limited, and provide insight into some of the complexities and possibilities inherent in mothering multiples.
This edited collection of narratives documents the sorrows, joys, fears and the complexities of intertwined emotions and realities involved in conceiving, birthing, parenting and caring for multiple babies. Each situation is well described and documented with care and compassion. The stories are candid, realistic and relevant; each confronting controversial issues and debunking myths with clarity and conviction. The authors have clearly come to understand themselves and to gain new insights as gendered social beings. They raise questions on the social construction of good mothering from various perspectives that provoke reader response as well.
—Sharon Abbey, Director, Centre of Adult Education and Community Outreach, Faculty of Education, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario
As many parents would doubtless agree, going from one child to two more than doubles the workload and often completely changes the parenting experience. Parenting twins or triplets, however, brings an entirely different set of complications and considerations. On Mothering Multiples offers a diverse array of narrative, scholarly, and artistic contributions on the topic, individual entry points into what, for many of us, is a foreign experience.
—Rachel Epp Buller, author of Reconciling Art and Mothering
On Mothering Multiples: Complexities and Possibilities is not a traditional “guide” or “how to” parenting book; rather, it offers reflections on some of the more challenging aspects and stages of mothering (and parenting) multiples and provides insight into some of the realities of those that conceive, give birth to and mother multiples. By attempting to cover topics and experiences that are often neglected in traditional multiple-birth literature, this collection of thought provoking, scholarly and creative articles makes a valuable contribution to the subject of mothering multiple-birth children. This book is a celebration of the array of complexities, possibilities and emotions involved in receiving the gift of multiple-birth children and of mothering multiples.
—Kimberley Weatherall, former Executive Director, Multiple Births Canada (MBC) / Naissances Multiple Canada, Board Member and Past Chair, International Council of Multiple Birth Organizations (ICOMBO)
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Lynda P. Haddon and Bonnie L. Schultz
Opening
Kathy Mantas
Chapter One
“Why Should We Not be Depressed?”
A Population at Risk, and Problems with Traditional
Understandings of Multiple Motherhood
Christie E. Bolch and Jane R. Fisher
VISUAL INTERLUDE I
Chapter Two
A Glimpse into a Multiple Birth Mother’s Life
Bonnie L. Schultz
Chapter Three
You’re So Lucky
Suzanne Kamata
Chapter Four
A Triography of Polymaternity: Becoming Mamas to Triplets
Abigail L. Palko
Chapter Five
Notes from the Night Owl Feed
Kirsten Eve Beachy
VISUAL INTERLUDE II
Chapter Six
art-i-facts: A Work in Progress
Kathy Mantas
Chapter Seven
Congratulations and Condolences:
Incorporating Burden, Love, and Community in
Identifying as a Mom
(Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Twins)
Erica Lucast Stonestreet
Chapter Eight
Surviving the Early Years:
Parents of Multiples’ Trials and Tribulations
of Finding and Accessing Suitable and Affordable Childcare
Jennifer Kelland and Rose Ricciardelli
VISUAL INTERLUDE III
Chapter Nine
The Art of Twinning
Victoria Team
177
Chapter Ten
Queer Parenting and the Revelation of Twins
Leslie Robertson and Kathryn Trevenen
Chapter Eleven
“Side by Side, Always and Forever”
Cathy Deschenes
Chapter Twelve
Tales of Survival from a Mother on the Edge:
Listening to Love, Play, and Creativity
Celeste Snowber
Chapter Thirteen
Naming the Planets
Jessica Jennrich
Chapter Fourteen
Milkshake Lovers, Unite!
Performing Infant Feeding: A Narrative of Theory and Practice
Terri Hawkes
Chapter Fifteen
Embryonic Motherhood:
Interrogating the Rhetoric of Infertility,
Assisted Reproductive Technology, and
Mothers of Multiples in Tabloid Culture
Maria Novotny
Closing
Kathy Mantas
About the Contributors
Kathy Mantas, educator, artist-researcher and mother, is currently an Associate Professor of Education at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario. Her research interests include: life-long learning; teacher development, knowledge and identity; arts education; artful inquiry; creativity in teaching-learning contexts; holistic and wellness education; women’s health issues; motherhood and mothering studies.
