Reproductive Health Challenges among Malay Women in Singapore: Obstetric Violence, Race, Class and Gender in Medicalised Birth
Author: Syahirah Rasheed, syarshd@protonmail.com
Department: Southeast Asian Studies
University: National University of Singapore, Singapore
Supervisor: Maznah Mohamad
Year of completion: 2023
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
Iatrogenesis
, Obstetric
, Reproductive health
, Singapore
Areas of Research:
Women in Society
, Health
, Science and Technology
Abstract
This dissertation outlines connections between obstetric violence and medicalised birth among Malay women in Singapore. Examining maternity care and the disparagement of Malay mothers and bidan from the colonial to the present period, I argue that economic, societal and political developments in biomedicine instituted medicalised reproduction. I propose a concept of hyper-medicalisation to explain the normalised pervasiveness of gender-based obstetric violence in maternity care. I unpack the challenges women face in accessing holistic reproductive knowledge which thus constrains their agency and autonomy. I trace the formation of modern maternity care as incorporating socio-cultural prejudices, legal and economic motivations, and reproductive policies that target stigmatised groups. Through participant observation and interviews, my qualitative fieldwork shows that Malay women birthing in hospitals experience direct and indirect physical and psychological violence. Finally, I argue that while doulas arose from obstetric violence, intrinsic connections of discourse and practice between bidan and doulas help women confront medicalisation and confirm the endurance of indigenous knowledges of reproduction.
