An Alternative History of Mothering

BBC Radio 4

Historian Emma Griffin turns to history to debunk what she calls the Motherhood Myth. She explores how, despite constant efforts since the 18th century to insist that maternal love is as natural as sunshine, the reality is much more complex.

Ideas about motherhood have changed over the past five hundred years, and so too have the actual emotions themselves.

An Alternative History of Mothering

historian Emma Griffin turns to history to debunk what she calls the Motherhood Myth - the idea that maternal love is as natural as sunshine.