A thought-provoking look at women’s health in developing nations! This book shows how war, military regimes, industrialization, urbanization, and social upheaval have all affected the choices Southeast Asian women make about their health and health care. When you read these first-person accounts from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma, you’ll be drawn into the lives of women dealing with drastic changes in their societies. The meticulous case studies in this book examine how social, cultural, and economic forces contribute to the way women make personal health care decisions. Women’s Health in Mainland Southeast Asia offers a thought-provoking look into the lives of women in this developing part of the world. Topics addressed in Women’s Health in Mainland Southeast Asia include: a proposed new approach to women’s health, where treatment is determined by society, culture, and gender rather than by biology alone the relationship between menstruation and other aspects of life for Burmese women the politics of abortion in Thailand the difficulties of seeking care for reproductive tract infections in Vietnam the influence of local culture on the treatment of reproductive health problems in northeast Thailand occupational health hazards faced by women working in the electronics industry in northern Thailand the links between migration, sex work, and HIV/AIDS among female garment factory workers in Cambodia

The Journey of Becoming a Mother Among Women in Northern Thailand is the first book-length study of childbearing and motherhood in Thailand. Informed by both anthropology and women's studies, Pranee Liamputtong draws sharp distinctions between the practices of the East and those of the West. Covering virtually every aspect of childbirth and upbringing, this book also examines how women try to adapt to changes - social, economical, and political - that affect their motherhood and reproduction.This very personal and accessible book is an excellent intercultural study of women and health, useful to undergraduate as well as graduate students of Women's Studies, Public Health, and Anthropology.

This international collection explores the relationships between society, place, gender and health, and how these play out in different parts of the world. The chapters work together in examining the complex layering of social, economic and political relations that frame women's health. The authors demonstrate that women's health needs to be understood 'in place' if gains are to be made in improving women's health and health care.