Medicalization Discourse and Modernity: Contested Meanings Over Childbirth in Contemporary Turkey

Childbirth traditions and cultural perceptions of safety in Nepal: Critical spaces to ensure the survival of mothers and newborns in remote mountain villages

“…Additionally, the medical interpretation of childbirth does not acknowledge existent traditional birthing practices which subsequently influence use of medical services; accordingly women and family members are often blamed for their poor utilisation of medical services during pregnancy and childbirth (Douglas, 2 1994;Cindoglu and Sayan-Cengiz, 2010;Varley, 2010;Brown et al, 2011;Kooienga and Stewart, 2011;Moore et al, 2011;Coxon et al, 2012). This is particularly so in Nepal (Thapa et al, 2001;Regmi and Madison, 2009;Ahmed et al, 2010;Brunson, 2010;Basnyat, 2011).…”

“…Medically, this seclusion of women in the cowshed during and after birth is considered as creating risks of infection leading to higher mortality (Thapa et al, 2001). Contrastingly, researchers have argued that women should not be separated from their cultural settings during pregnancy and childbirth (Brubaker and Dillaway, 2009;Cindoglu and Sayan-Cengiz, 2010;Kontos, 2011;Lee et al, 2012;Hall et al, 2012) and tradition should be embedded within medical care (Eckermann, 2006;Rice et al, 1994). Women in rural Nepal prefer to birth in their community setting to maintain their cultural safety (Thapa et al, 2001;Bennett et al, 2008) and women in diverse societies act differently to enhance childbirth safety (Miller and Shriver, 2012).…”

Reproductive citizenship in Turkey: Abortion chronicles

“…When analyzed through gendered lenses, it turns out that medicalization of women's lives may be based upon unequal gender relations. Investigating medicalization of births in Turkey through following women's birth narratives, Cindoglu and Sayan-Cengiz (2010) maintain that the medicalization discourse closely collaborates with traditional gender roles and contributes to the patriarchal control on women's bodies. In this regard, expansion of the scope of medical authority on women's lives cannot be thought in isolation from the prevalent patriarchal codes.…”

The ‘politics of intimate’ at the intersection of neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism in contemporary Turkey

“…Some have argued that this trend is an indicator of Turkey's heading toward a more costly medical delivery system (Koç, 2003). The increased rate of Cesarean sections is more prevalent among women with higher socioeconomic status, education level and age (Seçkiner & Tezcan, 2010) suggesting that Cesarean sections are perceived as a more modern, professional, low-risk form of delivery (Cindoğlu & Sayan-Cengiz, 2010).…”

“…The increased medicalization of birth and Cesarean deliveries within urban contexts (Cindoğlu & Sayan-Cengiz, 2010) is an example of how market rationality functions to impact this realm. In the last decade, a significant increase in Cesarean section deliveries (an average of 36.7% of births in 2008 in public hospitals and 40.7% in all health institutions) in the country have made these ratios distinctly higher than the WHO-suggested rate (15%).…”