Paper short abstract:

Despite over two decades of WHO policies focused on reducing maternal deaths, the decline has been slow. Through analysis of birth ethnographies and WHO policies I explore whether there is a role for ethnographic research in informing the development of policies relating to pregnancy and childbirth.

Paper long abstract:

Despite over two decades of WHO policies focused on reducing maternal deaths, the decline has been slow. Historically assumed global applicability of WHO policies, without due consideration of the unique beliefs and practises of different societies, has been linked to the past policy failures. Through analysis of birth ethnographies and WHO policies I explore whether there is a role for ethnographic research in informing the development of policies relating to pregnancy and childbirth. I conclude that although current WHO policies do not explicitly call for ethnographic research, they highlight a need for the evidence it generates. Ethnography could provide necessary background information to understand the underlying causes of maternal mortality and help adapt policies so that they are relevant to local socio-cultural contexts. Ethnography could help generate new solutions to problems and legitimise alternatives to a biomedical framework for understanding pregnancy. I conclude the value of ethnography and the type of information it generates could be applied to other spheres of public health beyond maternal health. I recommend that medical anthropology should remain an important part of the curriculum in schools of public health in order to strengthen the awareness of the value of ethnographic methods among those whom graduate to become policy makers at WHO. I recommend that WHO employ anthropologists to actively participate in development and implementation of global health policies.