Welcome to the website of the Motherhood Project, where we are working to promote a mothers’ renaissance — fresh thinking, discussion, and activism by mothers about motherhood and mothering, and about who mothers are, what we do, our importance to our children, families, and society, and our potential as catalysts for cultural and social transformation.

Adriana Barbaro, Producer of the Media Education Foundation’s forthcoming film on the commercialization of childhood, interviews Enola Aird, Director of the Motherhood Project and others. Read the interview. Posted: August 13, 2007.

Interview with Marcy Darnovsky

Enola G. Aird, director of The Motherhood Project, interviews Marcy Darnovsky, Associate Director of the Center for Genetics and Society in this second installment of The Motherhood Project’s Future for Mothers Audio Series.

So much of what we hear now about the technology to create genetically advanced humans sounds as though it’s in the realm of science fiction. In her conversation with Marcy Darnovsky, Enola Aird investigates what this landscape looks like now. What’s realistic now? What’s already happening that should give us cause for some reflection and concern? Read the interview.

Interview with Joel Garreau

Enola G. Aird, director of The Motherhood Project, interviews Joel Garreau, a reporter and columnist for the Washington Post and author of Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies…and What it Means to Be Human in this first installment of The Motherhood Project’s Future for Mothers Audio Series.

For years, scientists have been hard at work perfecting techniques of genetic modification. The goal: to make what they consider to be “better grain,” “better plants,” and “better animals.” The question quietly before us now is whether the tools of genetics and other new technologies should be used to create what some consider to be “better” human beings … more.

How do mothers in the United States today feel about being mothers? What are their understandings of the work of mothers and the part that mothers play in children’s lives and in larger society. What are mothers’ most pressing concerns and priorities?

The Motherhood Study explores these and related questions. It contains the findings of a national investigation of mothers’ attitudes, values, concerns, and needs. Read the Executive Summary or download Download PDF (52 pages, 1,461 kb). You can also order printed copies of this report (volume discounts available) by downloading this order form. (PDF, 1 page, 107 kb).

Use the discussion guide of The Motherhood Study to spark lively conversations in families, neighborhoods, houses of worship, workplaces, mothers’ groups, community organizations, and the halls of government — and lead to action for the benefit of mothers. You can find this guide here. We’d love to hear the results of your group’s discussion. Send us your feedback.