Abstrakt
This chapter introduces key concepts in the area of cultural anthropology of childbirth. This subfield studies cultural and social aspects of childbirth in various cultural, social and historical contexts across the globe.
Research in this area demonstrates that a birthing process and circumstances surrounding childbirth differ across societies. still, chilbirth remains a firm part of the women's physiology. The domain of childibirth reflects core cultural values and social processes that dominate and emerge in a particular society.
Social scientists focus on these particular aspects in order to understand hidden meanings and symbols in medical language. They also examine power relations surrounding childbirth, especially in Euro-american cultural contexts, and study organizational cultures of maternity wards as major sites of giving birth in Western societies.