Edited volume to be published with Lexington Books.

Proposals due May 10, 2016

This volume will explore the intersection of religion/spirituality with childbirth and midwifery. In the Late Modern period (1800 to the present day) in large parts of the world, midwives were overshadowed and undermined by the growing professionalism of medicine, hospitalization and ultimately the medicalization of the birthing process itself.

Due to these changes the meaning of childbirth has shifted, often becoming more private and more medical. The volume will examine the way in which spirituality has either been brought back to childbirth, often through alternative spiritualities or in which it has remained in certain traditions, often in conflict with prevailing scientific attitudes.

• Confirmed chapters already include the following topics: Sister midwives in 19th century France; Singaporean Malay mothers in the 20th c.; Holistic natural childbirth in contemporary francophone contexts;

Lexington Books publishes research volumes for an academic audience including edited collections in the humanities and social sciences.

Proposals due May 10, 2016; Please e-mail a provisory title, a 300 word abstract, a short CV or link to publications to Marianne Delaporte at mdelaporte@ndnu.edu or Morag Martin at mmartin@brockport.edu. Contributors will be notified of acceptance by May 30. Contributors whose abstracts show a potential for inclusion in the volume will be invited to contribute a full chapter, ranging from 18 to 22 pages, double spaced, including notes, are expected by December 2016 for publication in 2017.

Source: H-Net