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Reframing caesarean births: challenges, transitions, and politics
Join us for the closing conference of the 4-years SNSF-funded project “Parents’ experiences of surgical birth: a socio-anthropological study of C-section culture in Switzerland”. Featuring distinguished keynote speakers and international presenters, this interdisciplinary conference aims to build bridges between social and medical sciences, offering a unique platform to explore the intricate dynamics of surgical birth. We will explore the global-local interplay of technologies, knowledge, cultural models, and economic factors shaping caesarean births practices across the Global North and South.
- Date
- Schedules
- Place
- Amphipôle, 319
- Format
- On site
Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to limit surgical births to 10–15%, their rates have been rising steadily in most middle- and high-income countries. The overuse of this technique has sparked medical, political, economic, and social debates in both Global South and Global North countries. Critics emphasize its iatrogenic effects on birthers and babies, the sometimes-traumatic experiences of parents, and the lucrative incentives driving its disproportionate use in private clinics. They also highlight the racial and gender biases influencing the frequency of caesarean sections among certain groups of women/birthers, the structural violence involved, and the political decisions of public health authorities that either encourage or discourage its use. This international conference brings together scholars and healthcare providers to examine evolving obstetric cultures and practices around caesarean births. We will explore the tensions between the need to improve parents’ experiences and WHO’s recommendations to lower caesarean rates globally.
Thursday 5 September 2024
- 08h30 : Welcome & Introduction
- 09h00 : Keynote speaker 1: "Why so much cutting? An exploration of (un)necessary cesareans and obstetric violence". Vania Smith-Oka, (University of Notre Dame, USA).
- 10h45-12h30 : Session 1: An intersectional approach to caesarean births I.
- 13h45-15h30 : Session 2: Childbirth experience, traumatic caesareans, and obstetric violence.
- 16h00-17h30 : Session 3: An intersectional approach to caesarean births II.
Friday 6 September 2024
- 09h00 : Keynote speaker 2 : "Changing the frame: birth, labour, and the politics of caesareans". Rachelle Chadwick (University of Bristol, UK).
- 10h45-12h30 : Session 4 (in French): Hospital protocols, surgical technologies, and parents' experiences.
- 13h45-15h30 : Session 5: Caesarean births and obstetric culture.
- 16h00 : Roundtable (in French) with Swiss-based healthcare providers.
- 18h00 : Conference closing.