Contemporary Ukrainian Home Birth Customs

• Author / Creator

  Chernyavska, Maryna

• This thesis examines contemporary homebirth practices in Ukraine. Following an overview of the Ukrainian ethnographic literature on childbirth as a life cycle event, this work explores contemporary childbirth as practised in the hospital setting and at home.
  Childbirth helps understand better the worldview of Ukrainians, their beliefs and values. Today, people who choose homebirth in Ukraine view childbirth as an event that deeply transforms the whole family and is an integral part of their identity. Their ideas about nature, family values and what constitutes health have strengthened arguments against the conventional approach to almost every facet of life. Contemporary Ukrainian homebirth practices also shed some light on the other dynamic processes in contemporary Ukrainian society, such as the distribution of power, gender issues, traditional family values and their (in)significance.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Social life and customs
  • Homebirth
  • Folklore
  • Childbirth--Ukraine
  • Ethnography

• Graduation date

  Spring 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R30M7Q

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.