Bodily risks, spiritual risks: contrasting discourses on pregnancy in a rural Tanzanian community

"In this dissertation I examine the cultural construction of risk in the context of pregnancy and childbirth in a small, rural community in the Shinyanga Region of west-central Tanzania. My argument is that there are ""official"" and ""unofficial"" definitions of these risks, and that although both address the similar domains of fertility and health, their respective definitions of what constitutes ""risk"" are often times strikingly different. I define as ""official"" the various factors that have been identified by policy makers at the international and national levels as posing risks to maternal health. I define as ""unofficial"" those risks that, although valid for community members at the local level, do not become part of any official policy. I argue more specifically that ""official"" definitions of risk do not always accurately reflect the realities of rural women's experiences of pregnancy and childbirth; that these incomplete or inaccurate definitions of risk sometimes lead to the development of inadequate solutions for reducing maternal mortality rates in Tanzania; and that some of the solutions proposed at the international and national levels as a result of relying exclusively on ""official"" definitions are, in turn, perceived as risks themselves by local community members."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Roth, Denise Marie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gottlieb, Alma J.

• Anthropology, Cultural
• History, African
• Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Women's Studies
• Health Sciences, Public Health

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1996 Roth, Denise Marie

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

9780591200188
AAI9712421
(UMI)AAI9712421

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/21227