CALL FOR PAPERS
The scientific conference “Birthing, Mothering and Othering” will be held at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, from October 20 to 24, 2025. Bringing together scholars, care providers, activists, and artists from around the world, the event aims to foster a global, cross-disciplinary dialogue on reproductive care and justice.
Drawing from fields such as sociology, anthropology, public health, and demography, as well as from the lived experiences of midwives, doulas, and other practitioners, the conference will explore the full spectrum of reproductive care—from preconception to postpartum. It will highlight diverse approaches to birth, including both medicalized and non-medicalized practices, and give special attention to gender-based and obstetric violence, as well as community-based alternatives within a reproductive justice framework.
A key feature of the event is its participatory approach: beyond academic presentations, it will include hands-on workshops led by traditional and professional care providers. This inclusive format emphasizes ethical, practitioner-informed collaboration and aims to build international networks of solidarity among those working in reproductive health.
We invite individual paper abstracts that engage with one of the proposed thematic strands or introduce new themes that could enrich the conference through panel discussions. We also welcome creative and non-traditional presentation formats, and strongly encourage contributions from outside academia—including practitioners, artists, and activists working at the intersection of their practice and reproductive care.
Proposal submission deadline: June 30, 2025, via the online form on the conference website: https://reproduction.sciencesconf.org.
Thematic Strands
1. Birth Work: Experiences, Narratives and Practices.
2. State Regulation and Governance of Reproductive Bodies.
3. Navigating Gender, Race, Class and Migration: Intersectionality and Injustice in Reproductive Journeys
4. Obstetric Violence and Alternatives.
5. Care Providers in Reproductive Decision-Making and Beyond.
6. Mothering & Not Mothering: A Reproductive & Life Choice?
7. Environmental Injustices in Reproductive Journeys.
8. Decolonizing Reproductive Care: Past & Present Dialogues.