“Who Cares?”: Birth Doulas, Personalized Care and Medical Rationales in Birth Care in Turkey and Finland

Application summary

Who are birth doulas, and how can we interpret the reasons behind the need for their care? This is the central question I explore in my research, which delves into how birth doulas compensate for the lack of personalized care within the healthcare system and how their approaches encounter the medical rationales and practices in Turkey and Finland. I aim to understand the growing demand for birth doulas through a cross-cultural analysis by exploring the interplay between the medicalization of birth, the professionalization of care work, and the interactions among OB/GYNs, midwives, birth doulas, and birth-givers within medical systems. Data collected in Turkey from 2022 to 2024 includes interviews with birth doulas and healthcare professionals, as well as focus group discussions with OB/GYNs, midwives, birth-givers, and their partners. In Finland, data collection will continue with in-depth interviews with birth doulas, OB/GYNs, midwives, and birth-givers. Childbirth is often routinized and trivialized, but my research critically engages with this politically charged domain, shedding light on the unequal power dynamics at play. By addressing these issues, the project aims to challenge existing norms and contribute to a more equitable and compassionate healthcare system. This cross-national and cross-cultural sociological analysis of birth doula practices in two countries located in Global North and Global South aims to (1) produce interdisciplinary and transnational knowledge on resistance and negotiation practices with the medical regime and its actors, and on the agency and knowledge that biomedicine attempts to render invisible, (2) expand academic knowledge on birth doula care, a topic insufficiently covered in existing research, through published articles and workshops, and (3) contribute to policy development for shared decision-making by providing insights that can enhance the childbirth experience for both birth-givers and care professionals.