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Focussing ethnographically on private-sector maternity care in South Africa, Privileges of Birth looks at the ways healthcare and childbirth are shaped by South Africa’s racialised history. Birth is one of the most medicalised aspects of the lifecycle across all sectors of society, and there is deep division between what the privileged can afford compared with the rest of the population. Examining the ethics of care in midwife-attended birth, the author situates the argument in the context of a growing literature on care in anthropological and feminist scholarship, offering a unique account of birthing care in the context of elite care services.
“Rogerson’s critical examination of care—and her exploration of the different factors that enable choices about care—are the most significant contributions of her work…Privileges of Birth is accessibly written, making it appropriate for introductory courses in medical anthropology, and especially those focusing on midwifery, class, race, and privilege.” • Medical Anthropology Quarterly
“Jennifer Rogerson is to be commended on an impressive, well-crafted and scholarly piece of work.” • Rachelle Chadwick, University of Pretoria
“[This book] offers a rare glimpse into the lives of privileged pregnant women and their midwives in the Cape Town area… A major contribution to the anthropology of birth and the anthropology of care.” • Bettina Schmidt, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Introduction: Elite Birthing Care in South Africa
Chapter 1. Myths of Birth: Intervention, Having ‘Choice’ and Histories of Birth
Chapter 2. Being heard: Planning, “choice” and knowing in pregnancy and birth
Chapter 3. Self-Making: Pain, Language and Metaphor in Birth Stories
Chapter 4. Making Birthing Relations: The Constitution of Attentiveness and Responsiveness
Conclusion: Care as a Problem, Care’s Limits
Appendix
Glossary
References
Index