CALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection entitled Indigenous Experiences of Pregnancy and Birth Editors: Dr. Jaime Cidro and Dr. Hannah Tait Neufeld Deadline for Abstracts: March 15, 2015 In North America Indigenous Peoples are diverse in the way they embrace their traditional institutions and cultural practices surrounding pregnancy and birth. Traditional midwifery, culture, customs, understandings and meanings surrounding pregnancy and birth are grounded in distinct epistemologies and worldviews that have sustained women and their families since time immemorial. Biomedical antenatal care practices in North America remain virtually unchanged from the original models developed in Europe in the early twentieth century. New technologies and diagnostic techniques have been added, yet standardized procedures are adhered to because of their association with lower mortality rates. Rates of maternal mortality are significantly lower in Canada than less affluent countries, however, inequalities exist. Indigenous women experience disproportionately high rates of high-risk pregnancies, associated with elevated rates of maternal mortality. First Nation and Inuit women are more likely to experience complicated labours and preterm births, with infant mortality rates almost 2 to 4 times higher than the general population. It is widely recognized that these circumstances are exacerbated by inadequate access to health and social services as a direct result of colonization, including structural barriers, restrictive and oppressive policies, and complex social determinants of health. Years of colonization have impacted the degree to which women have choice in the place and ways they deliver their babies, and who is included in their birthing experience. Culturally appropriate models of prenatal and birthing care are important components in Indigenous health sovereignty and self-determination. Topics may include (but are not limited to): Scholarly or creative works on personal experiences of pregnancy and birth including: interactions with health service care providers; maternal diet/food; chronic health conditions impacting pregnancy, labour and delivery; identity, race, female and male gender roles as they inform the experience of pregnancy and birth; maternal activism; politics of birth in urban and rural settings; spiritual practices; mentoring and community mobilization; marginalization, poverty, addictions and rehabilitation; Indigenous knowledge around prenatal and postpartum practices such as breastfeeding initiation; evolution of Indigenous midwifery and education; repatriation of birthing and larger resistance and activist movements; impacts of colonization including residential schools, environmental displacement, and ecological contamination in shaping individual and community experiences of pregnancy and birth. Submission Guidelines: Abstracts: 300 words Please include a 50-word biography (if Indigenous, include Nation/affiliation) Deadline for Abstracts is April 6, 2015 Please send submissions and inquiries directly to: Dr. Jaime Cidro, [email protected] or Dr. Hannah Tait Neufeld, [email protected] Manuscripts not exceeding 5000 words (MLA format) will be due October 30, 2015 DEMETER PRESS 140 Holland St. West, P.O. Box 13022 Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5 (tel) 905-775-5215 demeterpress.org [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:23:22 +0000