Hidden Circuits of Communal Childrearing: Health Implications of the Circulation of Children in Vanuatu

Abstract

The circulation of children among family members can have a dramatic impact on child health, contributing to the pervasive problem of childhood under-nutrition Vanuatu faces. Kin, particularly elders, have great influence on decisions regarding infant and child feeding practices, as well as with whom the child resides. Intervening kin can dictate the physical relocation of children through informal systems of adoption for varying lengths of time. The impacts this widespread practice has on child health are often overlooked in studies of childhood malnutrition and in public health interventions. In documenting narratives of childhood malnutrition and the circulation of children within Vanuatu households, this paper reveals that informal movements can lead to the hospitalisation of children with diagnoses of ‘failure to thrive’. Bringing to light the hidden circuits of communal childrearing, my paper calls for a reexamination of Western biomedical and nutritional education in the context of an enduring customary practice.

Keywords:

• Circulation of Children
• Child Health
• Malnutrition
• Kin Networks
• Vanuatu

Acknowledgements

Research was conducted in 2010, 2012–13 and 2015 with approval from the University of Pittsburgh IRB, the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, and with a permit from the Vanuatu Cultural Centre.

Notes

1 All names have been changed to protect the anonymity of participants in this research.

2 For the purposes of this paper, ‘solid foods’ refers to foods that are fed to children that are not breast milk or breast milk substitutes. Caregivers feed infants well-cooked and mashed food, or soft foods mashed up, often in addition to juice and ‘soup’ (water in which root vegetables and possibly meat is cooked for the rest of the family).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by an Institute for International Education Fulbright Grant, and grants from the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Anthropology; Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program; Asian Studies Program; and the Hewlett Foundation.