ABSTRACT

This book presents the contemporary history and dynamics of Mexican midwifery - professional, (post)modern or autonomous, traditional and Indigenous - as profoundly political and embedded in differing societal stratifications.

By situated politics, the authors refer to various networks, spaces and territories, which are also constructed by the midwives. By politically situated, the authors refer to various intersections, unsettled relations and contexts in which Mexican midwives are positioned. Examining Mexican midwiferies in depth, the volume sharpens the focus on the worlds in which midwives are profoundly immersed as agents in generating and participating in movements, alliances, health professions, communities, homes, territories and knowledges. The chapters provide a complex panorama of midwives in Mexico with an array of insights into their professional and political autonomy, (post)coloniality, body-territoriality, the challenges of defining midwifery, and above all, into the ways in which contemporary Mexican midwiferies relate to a complex set of human rights.

The book will be of interest to a range of scholars from anthropology, sociology, politics, global health, gender studies, development studies, and Latin American studies, as well as to midwives and other professionals involved in childbirth policy and practice.

The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

chapter |22 pages

Introduction

Title
Navigating the midwifery waters in Mexico
Size: 0.56 MB

chapter 1|42 pages

Underdogs, turf wars and revivals

Title
Politically situated Mexican midwiferies in historical, multiscale perspective 1
Size: 0.68 MB

chapter 2|36 pages

She breaks paradigms and leaves a trail

Title
The contested terrains of midwifery activism 1
Size: 0.79 MB

chapter 3|39 pages

From infantilization to body-territoriality

Title
Birth centers in Mexico 1
Size: 0.65 MB

chapter 4|35 pages

Dejar pasar

Title
The safe interruption of pregnancy by traditional, Indigenous midwives in southern Mexico 1
Size: 0.60 MB

chapter 5|37 pages

Postcolonial midwifery

Title
Midwives, territories and human rights in development 1
Size: 0.63 MB

chapter |5 pages

Conclusions

Title
Situatedness and the making of worlds in midwifery
Size: 0.43 MB