Gender-Based Social Relationships of Midwives in a Rural District in Spain

Resumo

Objective: Increasingly research is giving more importance to Women’s Studies taking into account the context of gender-based social relationships. From this theoretical framework we have focused on the work carried out by midwives in a rural district in southern Spain (Sierra Mágina, Jaén), in order to learn about the social relationships established around their profession.
Design: Ethnographic qualitative research using personal interviews and discussion groups.
Setting: Rural district of Sierra Mágina (Jaén, Spain).
Participants: 9 midwives and 11 close relatives of midwives from this rural district who worked there during the second half of the twentieth century. Also, there were 16 discussion groups with women from towns in the district who had been assisted by midwives.
Findings: We have described and analysed discussions with both informants and midwives themselves, the relationships the midwives established in the community and with other health professionals in the districts where they worked.
Conclusions: The study of the daily interaction between neighbours and healthcare professionals, and the study of the impact caused by the work performed by midwives brings us closer to their reality, their status, and empowerment.