Pleasure in Birth

Wellbeing, Praxis, and Reproductive Justice
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-81366-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 258 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Social Science Perspectives on Childbirth and Reproduction

Pleasure in Birth: Wellbeing, Praxis, and Reproductive Justice explores how birthing people experience pleasure in childbirth, challenging dominant narratives that equate birth solely with pain and suffering.

Drawing on The Birth Pleasure Study—the first rigorous mixed-methods research of its kind—this book presents rich data from 23 interviews covering 43 birth experiences across diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and socio-economic backgrounds. The book weaves experiential accounts with critical analysis to examine how cultural beliefs shape birth experiences and reinforce the maternal health crisis, particularly in the U.S. By introducing the Pleasure-Forward Birth Model, the book reimagines childbirth as a site of possibility, resilience, and joy, pushing back against the hyper-medicalized and fear-driven status quo.

Pleasure in Birth: Wellbeing, Praxis, and Reproductive Justice is ideal for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional birth workers in the social and medical sciences, especially those interested in reproductive justice, maternal health, and cultural approaches to childbirth.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bolaza, Elisabeth

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Physische Anthropologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Vorklinische Medizin: Grundlagenfächer Reproduktionsmedizin
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Medizin, Gesundheit: Sachbuch, Ratgeber

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction  Chapter 1: Why We Give Birth this Way Chapter 2: Birth Pleasure Experiences and Perceptions  Chapter 3: Pain-Free Birth  Chapter 4: Medicalization, Demedicalization, and Praxis  Chapter 5: The Sexuality Connection and Birth Pleasure  Chapter 6: Race, Class, and Feeling Good in Birth  Chapter 7: The Pleasure-Forward Model of Birth  Appendix

Über Autor(innen)

Elisabeth Bolaza is a critical sexualities scholar, reproductive anthropologist, and maternal health researcher. She is the founder and lead of SORADA, a research consulting practice transforming maternal, sexual, and reproductive health through research, rigor, and praxis. She is based in Oakland, California.