Abstract
In this paper, I presented an analysis of how mothers from poor and rich households make their childbirth decision based on the perceptions and experiences stemming from their respective socio-economic contexts. I argued that the place and assistance during childbirth are not always decided by the health conditions of the mothers and unborn child but rather sometimes by the socio-economic status and lived experiences of mothers and their families. Following a social constructionist approach, I have collected data through unstructured interviews and examined three factors; apprehension, social distance, and social and medical views towards childbirth. The finding suggests mothers interpret the three in different ways, the way that suits their lives. Thus the three factors lead the lower-income mothers of this study to the inclination to give birth at home and, preferably, without any medical intervention. In contrast, the same factors work the opposite for upper-income mothers due to their affluence and structural advantages and guide them towards childbirth with a medical intrusion. The contrasting childbirth care decisions of the two groups of mothers in this study present childbirth from modern health care facilities as a fashion for the wealthier women and a matter of fear for the poorer.
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Relevant data are included in this article. As this article is extracted from a PhD thesis, the thesis is available at https://theses.flinders.edu.au/view/4974d077-7eba-40cfa69a-0a89d7957136/1.
Notes
The relationship between the birthing mother and the Traditional birth attendant (dai) is horizontal because there is little difference in socio-economic status and knowledge between the mothers and the dai’s.
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Funding
The study has received funding support from: 1. Funder: AusAID, Australia Leadership Awards Scholarship, 2010, (student ID: ALA 000778), 2. Funder: Flinders University, Overseas Field Trip Grant (Ref No: s: SC861/2012).
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Ethical approval based on the participants and health care centers remaining anonymous and their information being treated confidentially was received from Flinders University’s Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (Approval Number 5535).
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Akhter, S. Fear and fashion of modern childbirth care: perceptions and experiences of upper- and lower-income mothers in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. SN Soc Sci 3, 156 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00743-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00743-2