The birth professionals: Emerging practices of birthing in contemporary India

ABSTRACT In this paper, we define what we understand by birth professionals and examine how they have emerged in India in response to existing obstetric and gynecological practices. The focus here is on the emerging category of the “birth professional,” as we look back into how professional midwifery, doulas, childbirth educators and lactation consultants have come to define “newer” birthing options for women, with the corresponding decline of traditional midwifery in India. Finally, the paper uses ethnographic field data on professional midwives and doulas, to define what birth professionalism represents in India through case studies.