The Cultural Context of Therapeutic Choice

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 1-18

3. The Cultural Context of Therapeutic Choice

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 19-34

4. Beliefs and Practices Surrounding Reproductive Processes

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 35-42

5. Status Among the Bariba: The Roles and Responsibilities of Women

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 43-55

6. Sociological and Career Attributes of Midwives

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 56-85

7. The Meaning of Efficacy in Relation to Obstetrical Care Preferences

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 86-95

8. Birth Assistance in the Rural Area: Patterns of Delivery Assistance

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 96-110

9. Client-Practitioner Encounters

   • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

   Pages 111-133

10. Utilization of National Health Services for Maternity Care in the District of Kouande

    • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

    Pages 134-156

11. Conclusion

    • Carolyn Fishel Sargent

    Pages 157-167

12. Back Matter

    Pages 168-192

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This book examines the factors influencing women's choices of obstetrical care in a Bariba community in the People's Republic of Benin, West Africa. When selecting a research topic, I decided to investigate health care among the Bariba for several reasons. First, I had served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Benin (then Dahomey) and had established a network of contacts in the region. In addition, I had worked for a year as assistant manager of a pharmacy in a northern town and had become interested in the pattern of utilization of health care services by urban residents. This three-year residence proved an invaluable asset in preparing and conducting research in the northern region. In particular, I was able to establish relationships with several indigenous midwives whose families I already knew both from prior research experience and mutual friend­ ships. These relationships enabled me to obtain detailed information regarding obstetrical practice and thus form the foundation of this book. The fieldwork upon which the book is directly based was conducted between June 1976 and December 1977 and sponsored by the F ord-Rockefeller Popula­ tion Policy Program, the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the FUlbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Program. The Ford-Rockefeller Population Policy Program funded the project as a collab­ oration between myself and Professor Eusebe Alihonou, Professor Agrege (Gynecologie-Obstetrique) at the National University of Benin.

• birth
• child
• clinic
• contraception
• diagnosis
• fetus
• mortality
• pain
• pregnancy

• Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA

  Carolyn Fishel Sargent

Policies and ethics