Abstract

The paper explores how mother-child relationships are repeatedly re-structured by the physical separations and reunions entailed by international migration. It is argued that shifts in the family's geographical configuration are accompanied by changes in the meanings and practices of motherhood. These are influenced by the timing of transnational family life in terms of frequency of transnational exchanges and intersection of the migratory process with the family's life course. The analysis is applied to the case of female domestic workers in Italy, through qualitative interviews carried out with migrant mothers and children.