%0 Book Section
%9 OS CH : Chapitres d'ouvrages scientifiques
%A Hancart Petitet, Pascale
%T When the traditional midwife is a man : reimagining traditional midwifery in Laos and globally
%B Traditional midwives : cross-cultural perspectives
%C New York
%D 2025
%E Davis-Floyd, R.
%E Daviss, B.A.
%E Ali, I.
%L fdi:010098093
%G ENG
%I Routledge
%@ 9781003380160
%K LAOS
%P 20
%U https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010098093
%> https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2026-10/010098093.pdf
%W Horizon (IRD)
%X In the late 19th century, the WHO made three recommendations based on the belief that

biomedicine could prevent most maternal deaths, one of which was to train traditional

midwives, also known as traditional birth attendants (TBAs). However, after years of debate,

WHO officially discontinued TBA training programs in 2004 (WHO/ICM/FIGO 2004).

While maternal mortality rates have decreased in many places due to the implementation of

capacity-building programs and caregiver training, women in remote rural areas or in

vulnerable settings still rely on traditional midwives. What happens when the traditional

midwife is a man? This chapter aims to investigate the biographical facts and the historical

and social changes that have led some men in Laos, including husbands, to take on the roles

of traditional midwives and to analyze the effects of this appropriation. The reflections

provided in this chapter are based on both long-term engagements with traditional midwives

and on intensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Laos since 2013.
%$ 050MEDECI ; 056SOCSAN ; 108DEMOG2