Kaja Skoftedalen

The overarching focus of this PhD project within Critical Medical Anthropology is to explore social dimensions of maternal health in Southeastern Tanzania. I am interested in dynamics between different actors' perspectives on pregnancy and birth, health and illness, and what is seen as constituting good maternal health. I will explore how women navigate political and cultural expectations of where and how they should give birth, and their experiences with health facilities and health workers. I will also investigate how relatives and other community members become involved in reporting processes after maternal deaths and severe complications in connection to childbirth.

I will carry out long-term anthropological fieldwork over a period of 12 months. I will use an ethnographic approach based on participant observation, informal conversations and in-depth interviews.

My PhD is part of the interdisciplinary NFR project Reporting in context: An interdisciplinary initiative to strengthen maternal health services and surveillance in Ethiopia and Tanzania (MATRISET), headed by Astrid Blystad.