| dc.description.abstract | This thesis aims to investigate the Myanmar health system as it is manifested in a peri-urban area outside Pyin Oo Lwin, Central Myanmar. After decades of military rule, civil war, and poor health indicators, Myanmar is now in a phase of complex political and economic transition. Based on a six months of fieldwork in Myanmar, the thesis takes childbirth as the point of departure and lens to gain insight into Myanmar’s current transformation. The thesis further begins at the paradox that a Buddhist monk – someone associated with asceticism and celibacy – runs a health clinic and constitutes a major provider of help in childbirth. Over the last decades, Buddhist and monastic organizations in Myanmar have provided social services that have not been addressed by the Myanmar government. Looking at the politics, practices, and social relations that constitute childbirth in the village of Tamar Tiri, I demonstrate how childbirth-related practices emerge from the interplay between state-sponsored health services, traditional practices, and religion. Buddhism, within this context, is important for both the constitution and performance of healthcare. | eng |