Molly C. Ball

This project examines and compares maternal health and childbirth from 1915–1975 for urban and interior spaces in three Brazilian states: São Paulo, Bahia, and Goiás. It espouses an interdisciplinary approach, putting quantitative analysis from economic history into direct conversation with close readings, qualitative records, and oral histories of social and cultural history. This methodological and theoretical reorientation provides an understanding of women’s experiences, wellbeing, and the networks of care they developed. This approach offers a counternarrative to official and male-dominated narratives that includes women of different socioeconomic, regional, and racial backgrounds, enriching our understanding of modern Brazilian history.