CALL FOR PAPERS

The scientific conference “Birthing, Mothering and Othering” will take place at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland from October 20 to 24, 2025. It seeks to bring together leading and emerging scholars, care providers, and activists from all around the globe. By engaging experts from various disciplines, the event aims to promote a global understanding of the diverse actors involved in reproductive care. Drawing on insights from scholars across disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, public health, history, and demography, as well as care practitioners with expertise in diverse settings, artists and activists; the event will contribute to enrich the ongoing scientific conversation. It will also create a space for the exchange of practices and alternatives seeking to develop a discussion focused on reducing gender-based and obstetric violence within a reproductive justice framework.

The colloquium will address different stages of the reproductive process and the associated care work spectrum available to subjects:

Preconception (fertility/infertility),
Contraception (contraceptive methods, abortion),
Conception (pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum).
Post-partum (physical, mental and emotional health, newborn care)

A key theme connecting these stages is the accompaniment and care provided by a diverse range of actors, including healthcare professionals, midwives (autonomous, "traditional," rural...), and other individuals across a wide spectrum of medicalization, demedicalization and the development of holistic or spiritual approaches, like doulas. It also recognizes non-medically assisted births, whether by choice or out of necessity, and acknowledges the role of family members in these contexts, such as partners who actively assist in delivery instead of a trained midwife. Additionally, the colloquium will explore the lifeworlds and expectations around reproduction, whether religious, spiritual or familial.

This event aims to actively involve practitioners in the collaborative generation of new scientific knowledge—not only through traditional academic exchanges and research presentations, but also through hands-on workshops led by traditional midwives, doulas, and healthcare professionals. Their lived experiences and insights are essential to addressing urgent issues in reproductive and maternal health.

By directly engaging practitioners, the event reinforces its ethical commitment to fostering meaningful cross-disciplinary collaboration and dialogue among diverse care providers and scholars. This participatory approach allows for a critical examination of the goals and assumptions behind reproductive health research, and encourages collective efforts toward effective, practitioner-informed solutions.

In addition, the event will provide each participant the opportunity to build international connections, share common challenges, and exchange strategies for promoting respectful, community-based reproductive care. Special attention will be given to the voices and experiences of midwives—whether professional, autonomous, or Indigenous—and doulas, who often navigate complex institutional and socioeconomic barriers in their daily work. Through dialogue and shared experience, this gathering aims to strengthen solidarity and support among practitioners across borders.

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