2016 Winner: UNTOLD DELIVERY STORIES: ZAPOTEC WOMEN’S BIRTHING EXPERIENCES IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF OAXACA

Project Information
UNTOLD DELIVERY STORIES: ZAPOTEC WOMEN’S BIRTHING EXPERIENCES IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF OAXACA
Social Sciences
Latin American and Latino Studies
Abstract: In Oaxaca, natural births have declined, with a rise in technological model of birthing seen in increased fetal monitoring, and cesarean sections. This ethnographic research in Oaxaca’s Central Valley examines what actors are involved in the birthing decisions of Oaxaqueñas, to answer the research question: How are Oaxaqueñas from Oaxaca’s Central Valley deciding their birthing option? From 28 in-depth interviews with mothers, expecting mothers, midwives, and medical personnel in the towns of Santiago Mataltan, Tlacolula de Matamoros, San Dionisio, and San Baltazar, I aimed to find an answer to my research question. I contextualize my findings with the theoretical framework of the state’s biopower in reproductive control, medical personnel’s construction of patient's compliance through subjectification, clinical gaze affecting the patient and medical relationship, and the medicalization of hospital births through cesarean sections. This research in Oaxaca’s Central Valley will help shed light on the perinatal care Oaxaqueñas receive, and how the Mexican state exerts social control of a traditional birthing practice by medicalizing a woman’s birth.
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Students
  • Mireya G Mateo (Oakes)
Mentors