Bregje De Kok
Biographic Data
| ID | 199740 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bregje De Kok |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bregje |
| FAMILY NAME | De Kok |
| SIGNATURE | DE KOK B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Navigating health system constraints and risks for childbirth care in rural Guinea: The role of women’s agency
Women with reproductive desires and needs face various health system constraints in the Global South. Certain biomedical practices, such as C-section, are also perceived by women as risky. In this paper, we explore how women in one of the Susu villages in western Guinea use their agency to navigate health system-related constraints and risks. This was a twelve-month ethnography using focus group discussions, individual in-depth interviews, inform…
(In)visibilising pregnancy loss in Southern Malawi
Miscarriages, stillbirths and neonatal deaths have received limited attention in global health programmes and research, even though pregnancy loss is common, traumatic and stigmatised. This paper seeks to illuminate lived experiences of pregnancy loss in southern Malawi, drawing on findings from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with women who have experienced loss, health professionals and community members, and observations of materni…
Making research ethics work for global health: Towards a more agile and collaborative approach
In this reflective essay, we seek to engage in a constructive dialogue with scholars across medicine, public health and anthropology on research ethics practices. Drawing on anthropological research and ethical dilemmas that our colleagues and we encountered as medical anthropologists, we reflect on presumed and institutionalised ‘best’ practices such as mandatory written informed consent, and problematise how they are implemented in interdiscipl…
"Who am I to say?" Dutch care providers' evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women
Weighing the options for delivery care in rural Malawi: Community perceptions of a policy promoting exclusive skilled birth attendance and banning traditional birth attendants
To address its persistently high maternal mortality, the Malawi government has prioritized strategies promoting skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery. However, in a country where 80% of the population resides in rural areas, the barriers to institutional deliveries are considerable. As a response, Malawi issued Community Guidelines in 2007 that both promoted skilled birth attendance and banned the utilization of traditional birth at…
Reproductive Desires and Disappointments
In this introduction we consider how people who have difficulties achieving "natural" parenthood seek to form families, and their experiences of reproductive negotiations and losses in this pursuit. We highlight gaps in the literature on infertility and loss globally, and identify how the special edition addresses the dearth of research in this field with men, with non-elites and on loss. We consider the key insights drawn from studies conducted …
Achieving accountability through maternal death reviews in Nigeria: A process analysis
Maternal death reviews (MDRs) are part of the drive to increase accountability for maternal deaths and reduce their occurrence by identifying barriers to effective, quality care. However, conducting MDRs well is difficult; staff commitment and establishing a blame free environment are key challenges. By examining the communication strategies used in MDRs this study sought to understand how MDR members implement policy imperatives (e.g. 'no blame,…
It’s a very complicated issue here’: Understanding the limited and declining use of manual vacuum aspiration for postabortion care in Malawi: a qualitative study
Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. Unsafe abortions are an important contributor to Malawi's maternal mortality and morbidity, where abortion is illegal except to save the woman's life. Postabortion care (PAC) aims to reduce adverse consequences of unsafe abortions, in part by treating incomplete abortions. Although global and national PAC policies recommend manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) for treatment of incomp…
Joining-up thinking: Loss in childbearing from inter-disciplinary perspectives
Interpersonal Issues in Expressing Lay Knowledge: A Discursive Psychology Approach
This article examines lay knowledge about causes of infertility. We use discursive psychology to analyse semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled Malawians with a fertility problem. We observe that respondents deny knowledge of causes, sometimes emphatically, but this co-occurs with descriptions of potential causes. We show that these respondents thereby address problematic interpersonal issues: namely that one is not entitled to medic…
Joining-up thinking: Loss in childbearing from inter-disciplinary perspectives
Interpersonal Issues in Expressing Lay Knowledge: A Discursive Psychology Approach
This article examines lay knowledge about causes of infertility. We use discursive psychology to analyse semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled Malawians with a fertility problem. We observe that respondents deny knowledge of causes, sometimes emphatically, but this co-occurs with descriptions of potential causes. We show that these respondents thereby address problematic interpersonal issues: namely that one is not entitled to medic…
"Who am I to say?" Dutch care providers' evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women
Weighing the options for delivery care in rural Malawi: Community perceptions of a policy promoting exclusive skilled birth attendance and banning traditional birth attendants
To address its persistently high maternal mortality, the Malawi government has prioritized strategies promoting skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery. However, in a country where 80% of the population resides in rural areas, the barriers to institutional deliveries are considerable. As a response, Malawi issued Community Guidelines in 2007 that both promoted skilled birth attendance and banned the utilization of traditional birth at…
Reproductive Desires and Disappointments
In this introduction we consider how people who have difficulties achieving "natural" parenthood seek to form families, and their experiences of reproductive negotiations and losses in this pursuit. We highlight gaps in the literature on infertility and loss globally, and identify how the special edition addresses the dearth of research in this field with men, with non-elites and on loss. We consider the key insights drawn from studies conducted …
Joining-up thinking: Loss in childbearing from inter-disciplinary perspectives
Interpersonal Issues in Expressing Lay Knowledge: A Discursive Psychology Approach
This article examines lay knowledge about causes of infertility. We use discursive psychology to analyse semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled Malawians with a fertility problem. We observe that respondents deny knowledge of causes, sometimes emphatically, but this co-occurs with descriptions of potential causes. We show that these respondents thereby address problematic interpersonal issues: namely that one is not entitled to medic…
It’s a very complicated issue here’: Understanding the limited and declining use of manual vacuum aspiration for postabortion care in Malawi: a qualitative study
Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. Unsafe abortions are an important contributor to Malawi's maternal mortality and morbidity, where abortion is illegal except to save the woman's life. Postabortion care (PAC) aims to reduce adverse consequences of unsafe abortions, in part by treating incomplete abortions. Although global and national PAC policies recommend manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) for treatment of incomp…
Achieving accountability through maternal death reviews in Nigeria: A process analysis
Maternal death reviews (MDRs) are part of the drive to increase accountability for maternal deaths and reduce their occurrence by identifying barriers to effective, quality care. However, conducting MDRs well is difficult; staff commitment and establishing a blame free environment are key challenges. By examining the communication strategies used in MDRs this study sought to understand how MDR members implement policy imperatives (e.g. 'no blame,…
Reproductive Desires and Disappointments
In this introduction we consider how people who have difficulties achieving "natural" parenthood seek to form families, and their experiences of reproductive negotiations and losses in this pursuit. We highlight gaps in the literature on infertility and loss globally, and identify how the special edition addresses the dearth of research in this field with men, with non-elites and on loss. We consider the key insights drawn from studies conducted …
Weighing the options for delivery care in rural Malawi: Community perceptions of a policy promoting exclusive skilled birth attendance and banning traditional birth attendants
To address its persistently high maternal mortality, the Malawi government has prioritized strategies promoting skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery. However, in a country where 80% of the population resides in rural areas, the barriers to institutional deliveries are considerable. As a response, Malawi issued Community Guidelines in 2007 that both promoted skilled birth attendance and banned the utilization of traditional birth at…
"Who am I to say?" Dutch care providers' evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women
Making research ethics work for global health: Towards a more agile and collaborative approach
In this reflective essay, we seek to engage in a constructive dialogue with scholars across medicine, public health and anthropology on research ethics practices. Drawing on anthropological research and ethical dilemmas that our colleagues and we encountered as medical anthropologists, we reflect on presumed and institutionalised ‘best’ practices such as mandatory written informed consent, and problematise how they are implemented in interdiscipl…
(In)visibilising pregnancy loss in Southern Malawi
Miscarriages, stillbirths and neonatal deaths have received limited attention in global health programmes and research, even though pregnancy loss is common, traumatic and stigmatised. This paper seeks to illuminate lived experiences of pregnancy loss in southern Malawi, drawing on findings from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with women who have experienced loss, health professionals and community members, and observations of materni…
Navigating health system constraints and risks for childbirth care in rural Guinea: The role of women’s agency
Women with reproductive desires and needs face various health system constraints in the Global South. Certain biomedical practices, such as C-section, are also perceived by women as risky. In this paper, we explore how women in one of the Susu villages in western Guinea use their agency to navigate health system-related constraints and risks. This was a twelve-month ethnography using focus group discussions, individual in-depth interviews, inform…
Sociology (9 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Global Maternal and Child Health (5 works) · Nursing (5 works) · Economics (4 works) · Health care (4 works) · Population (4 works) · Psychology (4 works)