A new booklet co-created by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Furaha Women’s Hub brings together women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period across different cultures and communities.
Birthing Stories: Stories of community and culture – the journey of pregnancy to motherhood was developed as part of a creative health project involving participatory arts workshops co-ordinated by Veronica Barnsley from the School of English, alongside an artist facilitator and members of the Sheffield-based women's organisation.
Participants were invited to share objects connected to pregnancy and motherhood, using them as starting points for conversations about personal experiences, family traditions and cultural practices originating in countries including Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica. These discussions explored themes including nourishment, faith, babywearing, postpartum recovery and the importance of community support. Women then created collages reflecting their experiences, while their conversations also inspired a poem, created by artist facilitator Shirin Teifouri, included in the booklet. The poem will be displayed on posters distributed to clinics, hospitals and community centres around Sheffield to raise awareness of the importance of understanding pregnancy and birth as cultural phenomena.
The project builds on Veronica’s interdisciplinary research on childhood in postcolonial literature, reproductive justice, and creative health. Her work examines changing ideas and practices surrounding birth, infancy and motherhood, as well as the ways literary and cultural narratives shape how these experiences are understood. She has previously led arts-based projects with refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant communities in Sheffield.
The booklet celebrates the knowledge women carry from their cultures and the support they provide each other within their communities, while calling for maternity care that actively listens to mothers, recognises their specific circumstances and treats cultural support as an important part of emotional and physical wellbeing.
As the booklet’s concluding poem states: “Each path into motherhood is different… Let our stories shape your care.”