Childbirth and maternity from a transdisciplinary perspective: nascer.pt

Laboratory of Social Studies on Birth.

Abstract

Knowing the current diversity of experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and transition to motherhood and fatherhood is something that, in recent years, researchers, activists and other social groups have been interested in knowing the current. In 2017, in Portugal, a research group purposed to contribute to the recognition and development of the domain of Childbirth, as an emerging scientific field in Portugal, through the launch of the project nascer.pt - Laboratory of Social Studies on Birth. This text aims to present the process of creation and development of this research structure, which, through the intersection of different areas of knowledge - health sciences, social sciences, arts, etc. –, came to produce and disseminate knowledge about the conditions of birth in Portugal, its social, political, cultural, and institutional framework, as well as its outcomes in health, well-being, and satisfaction. In addition to understanding childbirth in its diversity and multidimensionality and producing knowledge about this phenomenon from different perspectives, nascer.pt has a transformative purpose of intervention in the reality. In this way, the Laboratory promotes initiatives with a strong practical bent and it is acknowledged as a training space for new generations of researchers. Daily, we invest in building a multidisciplinary team and in collaborations with different entities and projects, inside and outside academia, nationally and internationally. Finally, we believe that promoting knowledge about childbirth will contribute to inform policies and to promote new debates on the ethics of childbirth, personal and collective choices, and the behaviours and practices that make up this important phenomenon.

KEY WORDS: nascer.pt; transdisciplinary research; childbirth; Portugal.