Anthropological analysis of the body in normal childbirth experiences as narrated by women and professionals in Barcelona

Abstract

Aim: To produce an anthropological analysis about how normal birth is thought through the notion of ‘body’ explained by Barcelona’s women and professionals personal experiences.
Materials and Method: Data have been extracted from part of the ethnographic materials that the author has been collecting from 2009 to this day. These researches are the basis of her Ph.D. work, which is focused into the birth humanization processes held in Barcelona. The data gathering main technique has been the participant observation plus 16 semi-structured interviews to key informants.
Results and Conclusions: Normal birth ideology projects an image of the female body as an active, autonomous and efficient one, which is also naturally gifted with all the necessary biological tools for the achievement of a successful birth. The normal birth is based on a body image that considers the body as something that possesses, even before the birth, all the necessary sage for the birth process. For all these previous reasons, the normal birth paradigm can be considered as a maieutic birth.