Relative bodies of knowledge: Therapeutic dualism and maternal-foetal individuation

Meurk, C; Broom, A; Adams, J

Relative bodies of knowledge: Therapeutic dualism and maternal-foetal individuation

Meurk, C Broom, A

Adams, J

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Social Theory and Health, 2014, 12 (2), pp. 159 - 178
Issue Date:: 2014-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Meurk, C	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Broom, A https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1258-1140	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Adams, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9901-5717	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Social Theory and Health, 2014, 12 (2), pp. 159 - 178	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1477-8211	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43632
dc.description.abstract	A strong body of knowledge attests to the fact that Australian women are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at increasing rates. However, use of CAM in the context of maternity care is variable and distinctive because of heightened sensitivity to risk and the complexities that arise in managing maternal and foetal well-being concurrently. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 40 women who had recently given birth residing in a major city in Australia, we trace their use of CAM and biomedicine through a sequence of important health-care events during their pregnancies and up until the point of labour. We show that these women's engagement with CAM and biomedicine depicts a pattern whereby CAM is used to ensure the women's well-being while biomedicine is used to ensure a safe and healthy baby. We employ the concept of therapeutic dualism to analyse how this form of medical pluralism reproduces contemporary forms of pregnant embodiment - specifically the ontological separation of mother and foetus. However, we also highlight how this dualism is inexact. That is, bodies of medical knowledge may be separated and combined at specific points during pregnancy, and so too can the foetal and maternal body. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Social Theory and Health	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1057/sth.2013.26	en_US
dc.title	Relative bodies of knowledge: Therapeutic dualism and maternal-foetal individuation	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	12	en_US
utslib.for	1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
utslib.for	1601 Anthropology	en_US
utslib.for	1608 Sociology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CHSP - Health Services and Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	12	en_US

Abstract:

A strong body of knowledge attests to the fact that Australian women are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at increasing rates. However, use of CAM in the context of maternity care is variable and distinctive because of heightened sensitivity to risk and the complexities that arise in managing maternal and foetal well-being concurrently. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 40 women who had recently given birth residing in a major city in Australia, we trace their use of CAM and biomedicine through a sequence of important health-care events during their pregnancies and up until the point of labour. We show that these women's engagement with CAM and biomedicine depicts a pattern whereby CAM is used to ensure the women's well-being while biomedicine is used to ensure a safe and healthy baby. We employ the concept of therapeutic dualism to analyse how this form of medical pluralism reproduces contemporary forms of pregnant embodiment - specifically the ontological separation of mother and foetus. However, we also highlight how this dualism is inexact. That is, bodies of medical knowledge may be separated and combined at specific points during pregnancy, and so too can the foetal and maternal body. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43632