Motherhood in Mexico is profoundly shaped by the legacy of colonialism. This ethnography situates motherhood in a critical global health analysis of maternal health inequalities and interventions in the southeast state of Chiapas. Using a transitional life course framework, it demonstrates how the transition to motherhood is never complete. Once a good mother is defined, she becomes undefined, the goal posts moved, and the rules confronted.

JM López is a medical anthropologist specialising in barriers to healthcare, sexual health and care ethics as well as working with the design and ethics of collaborative ethnography. They are Assistant Professor in Health and Society at the University of Bradford, UK.