Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth
Freebirth (intentionally giving birth without doctors or midwives present) is a taboo and stigmatised birthing decision. In this study, 16 women who had freebirthed their babies in the UK were interviewed, and the data was analysed using the voice-centred relational method (VCRM). This methodology p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Global Women's Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgwh.2024.1495914/full |
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| author | Gemma McKenzie |
| author_facet | Gemma McKenzie |
| author_sort | Gemma McKenzie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Freebirth (intentionally giving birth without doctors or midwives present) is a taboo and stigmatised birthing decision. In this study, 16 women who had freebirthed their babies in the UK were interviewed, and the data was analysed using the voice-centred relational method (VCRM). This methodology produces a range of outputs, including I-Poetry. Previous scholars have noted the difficulty in presenting results from VCRM research and have devised varied and creative ways of subverting these obstacles. Uniquely, this article relies on the theories of Joseph Campbell, Arthur Frank, and Kim Hudson to present women's freebirth accounts as both Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys. The article outlines the theoretical underpinnings of the Heroine’s Journey and demonstrates its use with women's freebirth accounts as they pertain to the joy of undisturbed physiological birth. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1a2ab0f377e41649ccc801f1c13455a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-5059 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Global Women's Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1a2ab0f377e41649ccc801f1c13455a2025-01-30T06:22:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Global Women's Health2673-50592025-01-01510.3389/fgwh.2024.14959141495914Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birthGemma McKenzieFreebirth (intentionally giving birth without doctors or midwives present) is a taboo and stigmatised birthing decision. In this study, 16 women who had freebirthed their babies in the UK were interviewed, and the data was analysed using the voice-centred relational method (VCRM). This methodology produces a range of outputs, including I-Poetry. Previous scholars have noted the difficulty in presenting results from VCRM research and have devised varied and creative ways of subverting these obstacles. Uniquely, this article relies on the theories of Joseph Campbell, Arthur Frank, and Kim Hudson to present women's freebirth accounts as both Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys. The article outlines the theoretical underpinnings of the Heroine’s Journey and demonstrates its use with women's freebirth accounts as they pertain to the joy of undisturbed physiological birth.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgwh.2024.1495914/fullfreebirthundisturbed physiological birthvoice-centred relational methodVCRMnarrative researchI-poetry |
| spellingShingle | Gemma McKenzie Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth Frontiers in Global Women's Health freebirth undisturbed physiological birth voice-centred relational method VCRM narrative research I-poetry |
| title | Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| title_full | Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| title_fullStr | Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| title_short | Quest Narratives and Heroine Journeys: the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| title_sort | quest narratives and heroine journeys the road to freebirth and the joy of undisturbed physiological birth |
| topic | freebirth undisturbed physiological birth voice-centred relational method VCRM narrative research I-poetry |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgwh.2024.1495914/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gemmamckenzie questnarrativesandheroinejourneystheroadtofreebirthandthejoyofundisturbedphysiologicalbirth |