Passion

How birth is represented x-culturally is a passion of mine. I also find it interesting how discourse of birthing and breastfeeding evoke such emotion from so many, whether it's a debate on the timeless pro-life/pro-choice, or some rant about a woman breastfeeding in public or prenatal care.

The Issues I'd like to delve into are centered on the idea of interpersonal boundaries, physical & mental. One thread of exploration is the act of crossing the "bubble", the physical boarder that allows a space of autonomy, a buffer zone, between persons. I've found that when one becomes pregnant, people have no problem rubbing and touching the pregnant woman's stomach, the area of the body that is usually very personal. A second thread is crossing the line of cultural appropriateness during pregnancy. What I mean is when a person conducts herself not in accordance with what is "normal" for her culture. For example, the ingestion of drugs, the use of alcohol, or smoking cigarettes while pregnant. And, thus the reaction this causes by surrounding adults. Some questions that come to mind are; what are the culturally constructed rules that exist in other cultures, and how do women negotiate these rules x-culturally? I hope to find some insight by talking to women about their pregnancy care, beliefs about personal conduct while pregnant, and their experiences giving birth.

Okay, so the paragraphs above read like a bunch of wooden sentences! Here's the scoop. This is what I hope to do while hanging with my family in Rio Branco, Brazil; talk to some really nice women about childbirth...

(to see these stories).