A cultural model of pregnancy: a comparison between Mexican physicians and working-class women in Tijuana, B.C.

No portion of this paper may be copied or cited without the expressed written permission of the author. This article is based on research that was completed in part with the support of dissertation grants from US Mexus (UC Riverside) and from the Center for the study of Latinos in a Global Society.

Abstract

At the time this research was conducted, it was reported that a significant percentage of women in Tijnana, B.C. (18.6%) who gave birth in a hospital did so having had little or no prenatal care [Núcleo Regional para el Desarrollo de Sistemas de Salud (NUREDESS) 1993]. Why does this underutilization of prenatal care occur? Frequently, explanations for health-seeking behavior among poor and working-class Mexican women tend to focus on cultural beliefs. This research examined the accuracy of such a cultural explanation by discerning the cultural model of prenatal care of a group of working-class Mexican women and comparing it to the biomedical model, as represented by a group of Mexican physicians. The results demonstrate that both groups actually share a similar model of prenatal care, one rooted in biomedicine. Therefore, it is important to consider broader, structural and economic variables as key factors that influence prenatal health care behavior.

Notes

No portion of this paper may be copied or cited without the expressed written permission of the author. This article is based on research that was completed in part with the support of dissertation grants from US Mexus (UC Riverside) and from the Center for the study of Latinos in a Global Society.

1 “Programa De Reforma Del Sector Salud.” In: Propuestas Para El Avance Del Sistema De Salud En Mexico. Fundación Mexicana Para La Salud, 1994.

2 Pseudonyms are used throughout the paper to protect the identity of the respondents.