Conceptions of Birth: A Theoretical Analysis of Birth Practices in the US and Mexico

Abstract

This thesis uses ethnographic and historical data to examine how the worldview of a culture directly affects the birth practices utilized by that culture, in this case, the United States and Mexico. Two worldviews are analyzed for their influence on childbirth practices—the Western worldview, and the ecological worldview, which have molded and formed biomedical and midwifery practices, respectively.