Researchers from seven countries bring together key issues in women's health, social anthropology and midwifery, thus creating a wider picture than is usually available to students. Pollution is used as a concept to highlight and help to explain phenomena in women's health which are usually unexamined, but which can be highly disruptive of service provision and personal well being. Such phenomena often concern relationships between key actors, self-image and professional and personal status.
Particular issues will be addressed in depth by well known authors from several countries. For example: the chapters on breast feeding examine issues which form major obstacles to increasing the uptake of breasted but which are not being considered by policy makers. This analysis enables voices to be heard which are important but often ignored. The section on the dai, for instance, addresses birth in India and Pakistan from the viewpoint of those who deliver most babies in those countries, exploring the knowledge and needs which they share with their clients which do not completely fit with efforts to increase modern service provision.
This book addresses things out of place; from bodily leakage to outdated religious practices, from diagnoses that disrupt our self-image to beliefs and practices which undermine health service provision. As such its aim is to use the contradictions in our thinking around pollution and power to stimulate rethinking around women's health.

Researchers from seven countries bring together key issues in women's health, social anthropology and midwifery, thus creating a wider picture than is usually available to students. Pollution is used as a concept to highlight and help to explain phenomena in women's health which are usually unexamined, but which can be highly disruptive of service provision and personal well being. Such phenomena often concern relationships between key actors, self-image and professional and personal status.
Particular issues will be addressed in depth by well known authors from several countries. For example: the chapters on breast feeding examine issues which form major obstacles to increasing the uptake of breasted but which are not being considered by policy makers. This analysis enables voices to be heard which are important but often ignored. The section on the dai, for instance, addresses birth in India and Pakistan from the viewpoint of those who deliver most babies in those countries, exploring the knowledge and needs which they share with their clients which do not completely fit with efforts to increase modern service provision.
This book addresses things out of place; from bodily leakage to outdated religious practices, from diagnoses that disrupt our self-image to beliefs and practices which undermine health service provision. As such its aim is to use the contradictions in our thinking around pollution and power to stimulate rethinking around women's health.

The experience of stillbirth and other losses in pregnancy at what is usually a time of great joy is tragic for everyone involved, including midwifery professionals. Although research increasingly shows how profound the effects of loss can be, few studies have explored the effects of pregnancy loss - which often leads to other personal and professional traumas such as loss of autonomy or a workplace - on midwives. This in-depth investigation uses a phenomenological approach to capture midwives' experiences of loss and grief in their own words, and encompasses both pregnancy loss and wider professional and personal issues. It then makes recommendations to enhance midwives' resilience and ability to cope appropriately, whilst giving maximum support to their clients. Reflections on the emerging implications for midwifery education and practice further broaden the scope of the analysis. The insights in this book will be of great use to midwifery managers and supervisors. They will also help midwives to nurture themselves, their colleagues and their clients at a time when pressures on the service can leave support lacking. The devastating experience of losing a baby for women and their families is something that, as midwives, we strive to understand in order to provide appropriate practical and emotional support. Doreen and Mavis encourage us to consider how we are affected by the grief of others at a deeply personal level. Ultimately the message in this book is one of hope: through reflection and the sharing of experiences midwives who have been with women whose babies have died can regain their personal strength and learn to re-shape memories in ways that contribute to personal growth and understanding.A" - From the Foreword by Nicky Leap

We have written this book because the story it tells warrants a wide audience. We see the purpose of this book as informing discussion and decision-making around reconfigurations of maternity care, so that planning, communication, management and recruitment can be improved and shared vision articulated and understood.A" Throughout the world, women-centred care is gaining prominence in providing maternity care. Many birth centres open each year to meet this need - but at the same time, many close or are shelved. So why should the turnover in organisations that deliver such a vital service to women be so high, thwarting many midwives from practising as they would wish? This carefully researched and passionate book tells the story of a birth centre that did fail, and the painful but valuable lessons it presents for others. Many of the issues and behaviours illustrated - lack of leadership, support, vision and plain-dealing, and tensions between bureaucracy and women-centred care - will find resonance in maternity services and midwifery experiences in the UK and throughout the world. Tensions and Barriers in Improving Maternity Care is a vital and challenging resource for all midwives, managers and policy makers and shapers with an interest in maternity and women-centred care. "A remarkably detailed analysis of the politics of a birth centre trapped in a medicalised system that threatened and rapidly destroyed it. It is a vivid example of how autonomous midwifery is undermined by an organisational structure in which management focuses exclusively on one model of care." - From the Foreword by Sheila Kitzinger 'I would recommend this powerful book to all supervisors of midwives as it provides profound insights into the impact of loss and grief upon the midwives who are often left feeling isolated and vulnerable when dealing with difficult circumstances.' - Nessa McHugh, lecturer in midwifery at Edinburgh Napier University, and leader of the Preparation and Practice of Supervisors of Midwives programme.