Enacting Homebirth Bodies: Midwifery Techniques in Germany

Abstract

Building on insights from science and technology studies-inspired anthropological research on reproduction, this paper uses a praxiographic approach to analyze homebirth midwifery practices in Germany. I show that such practices are syncretic, and that techniques of routinizing and multiplying obstetrical interventions are combined in more or less coherent ways to configure pregnancies and births as physical, emotional, and social becomings. In the process of attending, homebirth bodies learn to co-respond to each other, to the midwifery techniques, and to the homebirth environment. Understanding how and with which aims midwives and women invest in those longterm engagements specific to homebirth surroundings may inform clinical practices.