Discoursing Birthing Care : Experiences from Bangladesh
Contents: Foreword. 1. Introduction. 2. Conceptualising birthing care: origins, development, and methods: i. Origins. ii. Development : BRAC and birthing care. iii. Evolution of BRAC’s health programme. iv. BRAC health centers and community maternity care. v. Conceptualising birthing care. vi. Methods. vii. Profile of the study population. 3. Childbirth: beliefs and practices: i. ‘Normal’ versus ‘complicated’ childbirth. ii. Beliefs in the supernatural : evil spells and spirits. iii. Women’s perceptions and birthing care: home and beyond. iv. Place of delivery. v. Homely environment: ‘I feel uneasy inside.’ vi. Environment of fear: ‘something serious has happened’. vii. Fear of instruments:: ‘Angohani’ viii. Posture during childbirth: squatting, kneeling or lying down?. ix. Family care : the role of the ‘Good wife and mother’. x. Resting after childbirth. xi. Pollution and ‘Atur Ghar’. xii. Notions of ‘Lajja’ labour pain and pregnancy. 4. Quality of care: i. Quality of care. ii. Privacy: to be ‘Dhaka Dhuka’. iii. Dignity: the Apas are very good. iv. Caring: treated like ‘family’. v. Emotional support : ‘Good’ and ‘civilised behaviour’. vi. Access to information. vii. Gendering health care provides and sexuality. viii. Role of TBAs: knowledge and skills. ix. How comprehensive is BHC?. x. Costs: ‘will you pay the money if need to go there?’. xi. Distance: no transport—life of the woman is in danger. 5. Power, maternity, and health care: i. TBAs and women: shifting power relations. ii. Health providers and patients: the biomedical world. iii. Decision-making and family’s role: who decides? 6. Conclusion. i. Programmatic lessons. ii. Methodological lessons. iii. Future implications. Annexure case studies. References. Index.
"This book focuses on issues critical to the contemporary emphasis on gender sensitive health care for the poor pregnant women in Bangladesh. The core of the book explores the differing perspectives between rural women and health care providers regarding childbirth care and practices. The study attempts to understand women’s perceptions of birthing care and their practices, the role of culture, socio-economic factors, and household dynamics as they influence women and their family’s health-seeking behaviour.
"The strength of the present work lies in its clear discussion of the various ways in which rural women tread between so many factors in attempting to make decisions that best suit them within their own limited resources.
"The book should assist health policy makers and planners to respond more sensitively to the constraints of health sector in rural Bangladesh." (jacket)
