French Mothers Adopt Co-sleeping in Japan
How migration influences infant care practices
Presentation of a Scientific Poster at the 2024 International Marcé Society Conference.
Abstract
Literature about maternal practices amongst immigrant mothers from developing countries in western countries highlight negative impact of traumatic migratory journeys on maternal skills. However, there are few studies about the impact of non-traumatic immigration between wealthy countries.
Purpose : This study explores maternal practices of immigrant French women in Japan. It introduces their perspective on infant care practices that are negatively perceived in their country of origin but widely practiced in their host country, such as co-sleeping.
Method : Participants are married to Japanese men, grew up in Metropolitan France and immigrated to Japan during adulthood. They took part in a longitudinal study between 2021 and 2023, with a first set of 13 interviews and an interview one year after. We offer a qualitative analysis, with a psychoanalytical perspective, of their last interview ; a one-hour long recorded semi-structured interviews interrogating 6 pairs of mothers and their infants on what influenced choices of infant care.
Results : We found that mothers adopted parental practices they perceived negatively or had never thought about prior to their life in Japan. 4 mothers out of 6 had adopted co-sleeping by the second interview.
Discussion : Co-sleepng is taboo in France, but common in Japan. These opposite maternal practices may illustrate distal versus proximal dominant child care styles. We will offer detailed analyses of their interviews to find what impacted their choices. Women immigrating from a wealthy country to another may experience internal changes, sometimes triggering emotional distress, regarding representations of infant care solely due to being exposed to diverging parental practices common in their host country.
Conclusion : This study highlights that migratory context may impact mothers’ choice of infant care.
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