Weaving Pathways and Experiences in the Political Construction of the Health/Culture Intersection:

Perspectives from Brazil’s Traditional Midwives Movement

Abstract

The Traditional Midwives Movement in Brazil (MPTB), founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, emerged as a space for articulation and resistance, advocating for recognition, autonomy, and public policies that ensure its valorization. The health crisis intensified structural challenges, such as access to institutional resources and difficulty registering newborns under their care. Using a methodological approach grounded in popular education and inspired by Oscar Jara Holliday (2006), this study examines the trajectories and experiences of MPTB midwives, as well as their struggling strategies. And the possibilities for developing culturally sensitive public policies. The research highlights the health/culture intersection as a contested field, in which the recognition of midwives is part of a broader debate on rights, ancestral practices, and the autonomy of community knowledge. As Robbie Davis-Floyd (2001) suggests, traditional midwives are in a constant negotiation of their identities, redefining roles and justifications for their continued practice. This resistance movement reflects the challenges imposed by the dominant biomedical model and emphasizes the need to strengthen their knowledge within a symbolic and political space. Traditional midwives’ knowledge and practices represent a significant expression of Brazilian cultural heritage, and their recognition should go beyond mere incorporation into the biomedical model, fostering respectful, transversal and cooperative spaces for knowledge exchange. Strengthening these practices requires approaches that safeguard the movement’s autonomy and knowledge as essential to the diversity of maternal and perinatal care in Brazil.

KEYWORDS: Traditional Midwife, Traditional Birth Assistance, Health Policies, Culture, Community Participation.