Birth in Four Cultures : A Crosscultural Investigation of Childbirth in Yucatan, Holland, Sweden, and the United States (Paperback)

~ (Author), Robbie Davis-Floyd (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As revised and expanded, this edition is a multilayered resource volume for students of birthing practices in the West and internationally. The original text is well enough preserved to enable those who have not read it to appreciate Jordan's pioneering insights. The three added chapters are a thought- provoking continuation of some themes initially explored in the original work, and introduce readers to Jordan's current research on learning, technology, and the social nature of knowledge." -- Birth, Vol. 21, No. 2, June 1994

"We are fortunate to have this classic book back in print again. Since publication of the first edition in 1978, many subsequent anthropological studies have built up a corpus of literature on a topic about which little had previously been written. Returning to Birth in Four Cultures in this fourth edition, one is reminded how wise and generous the author is. She raises the fundamental issues in reproductive health care and gender justice. This is not another doctor-bashing book, but a positive work with insights from many points of view, in the best anthropological tradition." -- Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 1, March 1996

"When this book first appeared in 1978 it was a small volume that carried great weight in the medical anthropological profession, and for applied anthropologists as well. It received the first Margaret Mead Award which was designed to honor a young (under 40) anthropologist whose book was deemed to have an applied impact on practice beyond the confines of traditional academic anthropology. This reviewer must admit that, at the time, it seemed to be a big furor over a matter of little earthshaking importance--women had been birthing for countless millennia and the amount of variation possible in the process seemed minuscule. Although I am not ashamed of my earlier view, this fourth edition of what is now a classic work has led me to a diametrically opposite point of view. As with any work that passes through many editions, the book has become more substantial with time--now running to 235 pages. But the manner of updating chosen here allows the reader to be actively aware of the changes in delivery practice in each of the areas under study. Robbie Davis-Floyd has chosen to insert clearly marked updates which highlight the changes in practice over the 15-year period since the publication of the first edition. This is a splendid new edition, a growing contribution to the anthropology of birth, and one which can be read with profit by any who have concerns with the cross-cultural practice of medicine, specifically of obstetrics, as well as by those whose interests are less narrowly defined." -- Journal of Biosocial Sciences, Vol. 29, April 1997

Product Description

While the process of childbirth is, in some sense, everywhere the same, it is also everywhere different in that each culture has produced a birthing system that is strikingly dissimilar from the others. Based on her fieldwork in the United States, Sweden, Holland, and Yucatan, Jordan develops a framework for the discussion and investigation of different birthing systems. Illustrated with useful examples and lively anecdotes from Jordan's own fieldwork, the Fourth Edition of this innovative comparative ethnography brings the reader to a deeper understanding of childbirth as a culturally grounded, biosocially mediated, and interactionally achieved event.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Waveland Press; 4th edition (November 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088133717X
• ISBN-13: 978-0881337174
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #124,168 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Open Up Your Eyes and Open Up Your Minds, December 29, 2003

By	"ber_lin" (New York United States) - See all my reviews

I first read this ethnography as an undergraduate major in anthropology, and now that I've started to teach college level courses as a graduate student in anthropology, I have assigned it in my classes for the last 2 years. Students are always fascinated with the information found in the book -- (largely because this may be the first time in their entire lives that anyone has given them frank information about birth in the US, let alone in other cultural contexts) -- and fruitful and interesting discussions have taken place in my classes after students have read this ethnography. I would highly recommend it for undergraduate and graduate courses in general anthropology, medical anthropology, ethnography, and a myriad of other anthropology, social science, and medical/biology courses.

One thing that I have noticed about those who want to argue about Jordan's findings is that they overemphasize the quoting of statistics from third world nations and that they have a need to justify how Jordan's statistical info about the United States is not as bad as statistical info from other nations -- as if the deaths of a few thousand babies per year here is better than the deaths of many thousands of babies per year elsewhere. This information is often coupled with a need to bring in still other types of birth statistics that are meant to nullify or throw into question the validity of birth statistics that show how the US consistently lags behind other industrialized nations in infant mortality rates -- today as well as in Jordan's "ethnographic present" time in the late 1970's.

But these kinds of arguments just show how much people can and do miss the point of reading this ethnography.

The most pressing, and central, point to Jordan's work is that everywhere people are convinced that their birthing system is superior to the birthing systems of other peoples in other places and that this superiority is always defined according to what the people within a culture believe to be the "natural" definition of birth. In the Yucatan, birth is hard work that women need to accomplish in their homes with their husbands at their sides, so it is inferior to give birth in a strange room in a hospital with few family members in attendance and with strangers violating their bodies with vaginal exams while they labor. In the United States, in contrast, birth is seen as a medical event out of necessity because Americans focus on birth pathology and they want medical professionals in attendance to save them "just in case" anything goes wrong. So, it is inferior to many Americans to labor at home, with non-AMA medical professionals in attendance, and with the awful possibility of something going wrong looming over their labor. This kind of chauvinism is cross-cultural and, unfortunately, it is very much in evidence whenever I see any negative American response (i.e. to quote statistical data on birth pathology, of course!) to Jordan's work.

Birth in Four Cultures is not a statistical treatise on birth nor is it meant to teach people about how to do birth "right." It is an anthropological study of the cultural logic people use to discuss, understand and perform birth. It is a descriptive account of how human cultural variation extends to biological matters. If you're reading it in the hopes of proving how American birth is the best type of birth system on the Earth, then you're reading it for the wrong reasons and you're not learning anything new. If you're reading the book in the hopes of proving how American birth is inferior to other birth systems on the planet, then you likewise are not reading it for the right reasons and you're not learning anything new. As Jordan points out, there are "good" and "bad" points to all of the birth systems she describes.

But, if you're reading Jordan's work to learn about human variation and cross-cultural information on birth, then you're going to be delighted with the ethnography. There is a great deal of ethnographic detail that brings the reader into the different worlds -- Mayan, American, Swedish, Dutch -- where women labor. There are moments of great humor and moments of great poignancy. It is an affective and effective work on many levels -- emotionally, scientifically, academically, socially.

If, after reading all of this, you find that it causes you to question some of the logic behind the birth protocol within your own culture, then accept this. If you're old enought to read the book, then you're old enough to understand that no cultural practice or group of people is without fault and flaw. Instead of trying to fight with, and deny the importance of, what you've learned that you don't like, become a person who individually paves the way for positive birth change according to the definitions within your own culture and using the new information you've gained about cultures not your own.

As Jordan says, all birth systems eventually change. How they will change is a mystery, but that they will change is certain. Be proactive in the kind of birth change that happens in your own culture, in your own life, and in how you demand to be treated -- or loved ones to be treated -- during labor. Most of all, though, become instrumental in making birth change be for the benefit of women and babies. This, and not ammunition for cultural chauvinism, is a message everyone should be able to grasp from Jordan's work.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and original look at the birth experience., July 13, 1999

By A Customer

Jordan examines the birth event within the context of the social norms of that culture. For example, in a culture where no one is "in charge" of the birth, a specialised tool (e.g. forceps) has no place, for that would defeat the equality of all participants. The midwife's role is to assist the family in fulfilling their decisions. By contrast, in a country where birth is hospitalised, birth often becomes an "illness" which needs to be "treated" - the mother becomes the patient, and the doctor takes charge.I preferred this to "Birth traditions and modern pregnancy care" (Priya), which listed a variety of customs without examining the sociological implications. "Birth in four cultures" touches upon a variety of lessons that a culture's birth event can teach: the women's role in society, how the birth experience is defined (natural vs medical), etc. Jordan writes in the first person, and gives many accounts of births she attended. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in comparing the birth experience in the USA with other countries, possibly with the aim to change their opinions of what an "ideal" birth is. As a feminist, I found this empowering: since the birth experience is uniquely female, the societal norm will tell us a lot about our place in that culture.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but lacks in overall description, April 27, 1999

By A Customer

"Birth in Four Cultures," by Brigette Jordan was a required reading text for my class in Medical Anthropology. The book discusses the birthing practices of several different cultures, but Jordan describes some cultures more than others. The primary focus of the book is the women of the Yucatan, where Jordan did her field work. This part of the book is done very well, but the rest of the book is lacking. She did not have enough experience with the rest of the cultures to be able to write a strong comparison. While all four cultures were talked about, Sweden and the Yucatan were discussed the most and were the most interesting. If you are not familiar with birthing practices outside of the US, I suggest you read this book because you will be introduced to very different beliefs and practices.