Midwifery narratives and development discourses

In this article I explore the intersection of literature and development via the figure of the midwife. This approach is prompted by the recognition that, despite their importance, midwives often remain on the margins of both development and global health research, and literary analysis. Making midwives the centre of attention allows us to encounter the range of biomedical processes and practices that punctuate pregnancy and birth, the cultural imagery that shapes their meaning, and the sociopolitical structures that indicate what is possible in reframing maternal and infant health, and development discourses more widely, in decolonial terms. I present critical readings of autobiographical and fictional texts by African midwives who are also activists and writers, including Grace Ogot and Makhosasana Xaba. Bringing these perspectives into dialogue with humanitarian writing and Christie Watson’s midwifery-focused novel, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, allows tensions around the meanings and histories of “development” to surface via the diverse practices and beliefs that midwifery involves. I aim to demonstrate how the midwife has been and remains a uniquely placed agent for change, even when she doesn’t label herself as a development practitioner.