Hugo Peeters

Before the Cradle, to the Grave: Constituting Maternity Care as a Target of Prevention

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School for Health Policy & Management, department Healthcare Governance, [email protected]

Supervisors: Kim Putters, Wilma van der Scheer, Lieke Oldenhof

Background

BA Philosophy

MA Philosophy of Social Science
Thesis: Securing the Brain: The Emergence of Neurobiology as an Object of Crime Control  

MSc Sociology cum laude
Thesis: Cerebral Visions: Analyzing Dutch Discourses on the Future of Neuroscience in Legal Practice

Summary PhD Project

The aim of this project is to unravel the socio-technical configurations through which the period before, during and after pregnancy is integrated into welfare practice. Focusing on the Dutch context, it investigates the work through which actors constitute pregnancy and early childhood as objects of preventative care and welfare practices. To do this, the study uses qualitative methods to map out new ways of valuing pregnancy and early childhood, the development and dynamics of new qualifications, and the construction of new places for providing preventative birthcare. By tracking new forms of classification, valuation and action with regard to the earliest phases of human life, the research clarifies an on-going transition in the field of birth and pregnancy and enriches welfare state theory with constructivist perspectives on the disclosure of new policy domains.