'Breast is best' is today s prevailing mantra. However, women particularly first-time mothers frequently feel unsupported when they come to feed their baby. This new experience often takes place in the impersonal and medicalized surroundings of a hospital maternity ward where women are 'seen to' by overworked midwives.

Using a UK-based ethnographic study and interview material, this book provides a new, radical and critical perspective on the ways in which women experience breastfeeding in hospitals. It highlights that, in spite of heavy promotion of breastfeeding, there is often a...

'Breast is best' is today's prevailing mantra. However, women particularly first-time mothers frequently feel unsupported when they come to feed their baby. This new experience often takes place in the impersonal and medicalised surroundings of a hospital maternity ward where women are 'seen to' by overworked midwives. Using a UK-based ethnographic study and interview material, this book provides a new, radical and critical perspective on the ways in which women experience breastfeeding in hospitals. It highlights that, in spite of heavy promotion of breastfeeding, there is often a lack of...

Qualitative research, particularly phenomenology, is increasingly popular as a method for midwifery and health-related research. These approaches enable rich and detailed explanations to be uncovered and bring experience to life. Important recommendations and practice- based implications may then be raised and debated for future use. This book brings together a range of phenomenological methods and insights into one accessible text.

Illustrated with plenty of examples of successful phenomenological research, Qualitative Research in Midwifery and Childbirth keeps the focus...

A unique and innovative resource for conducting ethnographic research in health care settings, Ethnographic Research in Maternal and Child Health provides a combination of ethnographic theory and an international selection of empirical case studies.

The book begins with an overview of the origins and development of ethnography as a methodology, discussing underpinning theoretical perspectives, key methods and challenges related to conducting this type of research. The following substantive chapters present and reflect on ethnographic studies conducted in the fields...