Birthing matters in Portugal

Introduction

Dados Bibliográficos

ID18968318
AutoresAnna Fedele (0000-0002-9517-1587, Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CRIA-IUL), Portugal, autor correspondente), Joanna White (0000-0003-1335-3756, University of the West of England)
Ano2018
Volume22 (3)
Páginas607-618
Data de publicação2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEtnografica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0873-6561 • E-ISSN: 2182-2891
EditoraOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/etnografica.5951
OpenAlexW2902671711
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas18

In this introduction to the collection “Birthing matters in Portugal,” the contributions of anthropology to the understanding of childbirth as social practice are outlined. Portugal is a country with one of the highest rates of medical intervention in childbirth in Europe, and widespread and diverse opposition to current medicalised approaches to birthing care in Portugal are becoming increasingly visible, yet the “alternative” practice of homebirth exists in a legal void. The introduction provides a summary of the historical emergence of the current situation, which has scarcely been explored to date by social science scholars. This colelction of articles is an attempt to bridge the present gap in knowledge by showcasing new anthropological research from Portugal on pregnancy and childbirth, offering analyses of birth which go beyond generalising descriptions of the oppositional discourses of specific social actors (e. g. doctors, midwives, homebirthers), and instead analyse the various reflections, collaborations, contestations and contradictions, in particular situations and settings. The experiences of women are foregrounded. The contribution of each of the four papers in the collection is described

Childbirth · Political science · Pregnancy · Social science · Sociology · Law · Migration, Identity, and Health