Family constructions and caregiving practices

This chapter examines the nature and scope of caregiving practices within families to better understand how families can be constructed during maternal imprisonment. It discusses three distinct characteristics that were observed within families. First, the joint interviews and caregivers' descriptions show the meaning, nature, and value of collective caregiving practices within the families, facilitating nuanced insights into the families' shared responses to the mothers' imprisonments. Second, the findings indicate that during a mother's imprisonment, it is maternal kin who take on caregiving responsibilities. Third, one explanation for female relatives assuming the bulk of care may be the smaller uptake of care from the children's fathers. The chapter then considers the positionality of the children's fathers, as well as father–children relationships, from the perspectives of caregivers.