Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This master's thesis presents the stories of Doña Eugdocia and Doña Carmen: two parteras empíricas 1 living and working in the area of Estelí, Nicaragua.The stories were constructed from interviews with the parteras empíricas and are influenced by testimonial life history research methods.The stories, complemented by interviews with Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) trainers, locally available training manuals, and interviews with other parteras empíricas function as a counter-narrative to global (TBA) discourse revealing the important but little understood contributions these women make to their respective communities and health care systems.The stories demonstrate important parallels between the parteras empíricas' narrowing role in Nicaragua and global TBA discourse regarding their practices.The stories also dispel the notion of the "traditional" as signifying incapable of change.Instead, considering the parteras empíricas story within a postcolonial framework using Jordan's (an anthropologist) conceptualization of "authoritative knowledge" demonstrates that the parteras empíricas positioning of biomedicine as authoritative is a survival mechanism and not a devaluation of their own epistemological orientations.1 Non-formally trained birth attendants who have historically practiced in Nicaragua.iii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to recognize the support and guidance I received from my committee.My supervisor, Dr. Lori Hanson, a midwife in her own right, provided me with Nicaraguan contacts, provided me with invaluable feedback, encouragement and expertise, made herself available above and beyond the call of duty, and has been a
Author: Amy E. Mark
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W187346205