Why Midwives Are Peace Workers – A Conceptual Contribution to the Philosophy of Transrational Peaces
During my first semester of Peace Studies I was searching for my personal passion and professional qualities. Almost by accident I discovered the work of midwives and decided to do a midwifery internship during the online phase of my second study term in Innsbruck. That is where the idea for my thesis topic was literally born, as I experienced many parallels between a midwife’s attitude towards birth and the elicitive approach to peace and conflict we learn about in Innsbruck.
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My research is a journey across the manifold notions of midwifery viewed through the lenses of the five peace families. Thereby I especially shed light on a midwife’s qualities vis-à-vis the portrait of the transrational peace worker and point out strong parallels. The research was for me, in addition to a general curiosity and passion, a point of deep personal inquiry. I took the opportunity to weave into the academic and philosophical work reflections of my personal and professional journey, in particular asking myself whether and how I would want to be a midwife. Additionally, my thesis includes two interviews with an experienced home birth midwife as well as a couple who delivered their third son at home.
It was my wish to find a remote place in the countryside where I would do nothing else but write my thesis. This wish came true for me in a very small village in Brandenburg, outside of Berlin, where I lived together with my boyfriend for almost the entire thesis writing period. I needed to be in isolation and enjoyed fully diving into my topic and the process of writing. Altogether the writing of this thesis has been a journey to my heart and has touched me deeply in various ways.