Open AccessMaterial Appropriation for Infant Mortality Reduction: Troubling the discourse
Author(s) -
Debbie Watson,
James Reid
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of material culture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.412
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1460-3586
pISSN - 1359-1835
DOI - 10.1177/13591835211049042
Subject(s) - appropriation , psychological intervention , position (finance) , infant mortality , globe , medicine , sociology , nursing , environmental health , business , population , philosophy , linguistics , finance , ophthalmology
Reducing the risk of Sudden and Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) is a priority for infant health care services across the globe. Medical knowledge of risk factors for SUDI are well understood and have been part of public health messaging in the UK since the 1990s. These include the ‘back to sleep’ campaign that focused on newborn sleep position, not over wrapping the infant and to avoid passive smoke. Whilst progress has been made in reducing SUDI deaths worldwide, there are some infants who remain at high risk. This article adopts a sociomaterial lens to address the potential for material-based interventions to support messages to be tailored in culturally appropriate ways that do not negate parenting knowledge and practices. We focus on the proliferation of the ‘baby box’ as an example of material appropriation and consider the risks and the potentials for this object as a participant in parenting practices.