Calm Vessels: Cultural Expectations of Pregnant Women in Qatar

Kilshaw, Susie; Miller, Daniel; Tamimi, Halima Al; El-Taher, Faten; Mohsen, Mona O.; Omar, Nabil E.; Major, Stella; Sole, Kristina Baker

doi:10.3167/ame.2016.110204

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…The research involved 18 months ethnographic research in Qatar where we followed women, their pregnancies, miscarriages, and fetuses through the different clinical and non-clinical sites they inhabited (for a detailed description of methods, see Kilshaw et al 2016). The ethnographic research combines a study of 60 Qatari women who are experiencing pregnancy (n = 20) and recent miscarriage (n = 40), key interviews with those involved in lives of these women, and participant observation.…”

Section: The Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds, meat, and babies: the multiple realities of fetuses in Qatar

Kilshaw

2017

Anthropology & Medicine

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This paper explores miscarriage in a variety of Qatari contexts to reveal the multiple realities of the unborn. During 18 months of ethnographic research, a range of settings in which fetuses emerged were explored. The unborn are represented and imagined differently, particularly in relation to the ways they are located, with multiple beings emerging according to the context and position of the stakeholder. This paper considers fetuses produced within these contexts and considers how they can be different beings simultaneously. The paper reveals how categories meant to define these beings are in flux and are constantly negotiated; it reflects moments of ambiguity. The paper serves as an illustration of the way in which value-afforded pregnancy materials affects the contexts in which they emerge; this then loops back as context dictates the significance of the material, hence multiple realities of these beings.

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Section: The Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds, meat, and babies: the multiple realities of fetuses in Qatar

Kilshaw

2017

Anthropology & Medicine

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“…A Qatari pregnant woman is supposed to be calm and relatively tranquil. She is to protect her unborn child from outside risks and also from stress, anxiety and upset (Kilshaw et al, 2016), reflecting notions of maternal influence. Pregnant women, women who had recently miscarried and family members of a disabled child all spoke about the importance of a woman's emotional, psychological and physical state when pregnant.…”

Section: Traditional Modernistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qatari intersections with global genetics research and discourse

Kilshaw

2017

Anthropology & Medicine

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Genetic discourses have taken a predominant role in approaches to combating a number of conditions that affect Qataris. This paper is derived from an exploration of Qatari encounters with globalizing discourses of genetics, particularly as they relate to notions of risk. It explores Qataris negotiations of global interactions and influences, including the discourses around genetic risk and cousin marriage. It suggests that family marriage can be seen as one of the main platforms of resistance and a means for modern, cosmopolitan and tradition to be negotiated.

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“…Research shows that societal norms, policies and legislation impact a variety of aspects pertaining to pregnancy loss [9, 16, 18, 19]. Medical models of pregnancy emphasize the ability to control reproduction and leads to assumptions around positive outcomes in pregnancy [20, 21], making pregnant women’s behaviour the target of intense personal and societal scrutiny [22]. Such an emphasis on control and assumptions around pregnancy as success may contribute to a woman’s sense of responsibility for fetal outcome and self- blame in the case of poor outcomes [5, 23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Qatar, women’s identities and self-worth are strongly tied to their potential for procreation [4, 16, 20]. As per the recommendations of the 2009 Qatari population policy, fertility is encouraged among Qatari citizens [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total fertility rate in Qatar is the highest in the Arab Gulf States, with it reaching 3.2 in 2015 [25]. Qatari ideas around conception suggest that pregnant women are supposed to remain in a calm state, and should protect their pregnancies; therefore, a good pregnancy is surveyed and cared for by the woman and the medical profession [20]. Given the religious, cultural, and state emphasis on pronatalism1 and a women’s role in reproduction, reactions of guilt and blame following a miscarriage are likely.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Culpability, blame, and stigma after pregnancy loss in Qatar

Omar

Major

Mohsen

et al. 2019

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background Following a miscarriage many women report feeling guilty and culpable for what has happened particularly when aspects of societal blame and stigma are involved. This research investigated the impact of cultural context on the experience of miscarriage. In particular, it focused on how elements of stigma and blame are linked to notions of miscarriage etiology and risk among Qatari women. Methods The research used an ethnographic approach. The data was collected over 18 months of fieldwork in Qatar, using semi-structured face to face interviews, and participant observation. A purposive sample of 40 women (primary participants) who had recently miscarried, participated in the study. Potential subjects were initially identified in the Women’s Hospital and were consented, and then interviewed in Arabic either in the hospital or at their preferred location. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Additional key interviews were performed with 20 secondary participants related to the miscarriage cohort including family members and husbands. Inductive thematic analysis of content was performed manually to extract themes. Results Two main themes emerged from the material looking specifically at miscarriage aftermaths: rhetorics of blame, self-blame and feelings of guilt; and miscarriage attitudes. Overall society is sympathetic and miscarriage is seen as normal and not particularly worrying, but understood to be upsetting to women. However, findings suggest there is some ambivalence around blame, culpability and stigma applied to miscarriage; some participants perceived miscarriage as a relatively normal and common event, whereas, others felt that miscarriage is resounding stigma and shame. Conclusion Miscarriage aftermaths are embedded in social, cultural and religious frameworks in relation to notions of risk and causation. Attention should be paid to ensure women and those around them are given appropriate and robust information about miscarriage causation to deflect discourses of blame that may be employed and reduce harm to women who suffer miscarriage.

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Calm Vessels: Cultural Expectations of Pregnant Women in Qatar

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

Birds, meat, and babies: the multiple realities of fetuses in Qatar

Birds, meat, and babies: the multiple realities of fetuses in Qatar

Qatari intersections with global genetics research and discourse

Culpability, blame, and stigma after pregnancy loss in Qatar

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