Hancart Petitet Pascale auteur aut IRD text bookSection eng text/pdf born digital access 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. specialized LAOS 050MEDECI 056SOCSAN 108DEMOG2 Davis-Floyd R. ed. edt IRD Daviss B.A. ed. edt IRD Ali I. ed. edt IRD 20 New York Routledge 2025 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010098093 9781003380160 [F B010098093] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010098093 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2026-10/010098093.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2026-10-13 2026-10-13 fdi:010098093 fre