Browsing by Author "Suominen, Elisa"

This study examines the roles of midwives who assist in home births in semi-urban areas in Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study belongs to the field of medical anthropology. The aim of this thesis is to give indepth information about the role and place of these midwives in their communities and in the wider society in Ghana. The midwives have different backgrounds and practices. Most of them do not have a formal education in midwifery or nursing which makes them to be in a marginal position in a medical landscape where childbirth in gradually but rapidly moving into health facilities. The study is a qualitative ethnography on the work, practices and roles of these midwives in maternity health care services. The data for this research was gathered during a fieldwork in Ashanti Region, Ghana in January and February 2019. The main material consists of semi structured interviews, informal discussions, observations and fieldnotes. Interviews with five midwives who take care of home births form the main material of this research. Additionally, some hospital workers were interviewed as well as a few mothers concerning their opinions on hospital birth culture and home births. Some of the main results of the study are that midwives who take care of home births still have roles even though their work is gradually being replaced by formally trained health workers. Some women still turn to their help because of the good care and presence they give to their patients. These midwives have been crossing the boundaries of health care sectors, and they are still crossing boundaries of different kind for example by cooperating with the formal sector of health care in different ways in a medically pluralistic landscape in Ghana.