Mammisi : A study of factors contributing to women’s childbirth experiences & a conceptual suggestion for a Swedish Birth Center

Abstract: This project has researched why a welfare country like Sweden has a growing number of mothers with negative and traumatic childbirth experiences and aimed to propose a conceptual solution on how design could enhance factors contributing to a positive and empowering childbirth experience.  With close contact to both midwives and mothers the research brought light on the dissonance between the physiological mechanism behind birth and the existing user journey when giving birth at Maternity Wards at hospitals. A woman in labor is treated in a generalized pathologic medical system and will encounter several blockades, which risks to prevent her from experiencing a smooth birth on her own terms, this often causing unnecessary interventions and most importantly - a disbelief in her own ability to give birth and to be a woman.   The result of the project is a couple of guidelines and visual suggestions of how a Swedish Birth Center could be established, interacted with and how a birth space could look like, with focus on providing accessibility for a positive and empowering birth experience. Enabling a woman to find her full capability to give birth requires an undisturbed and respectful environment, protecting the powerful but sensitive hormones of birth.  The concept is called Mammisi, the ancient name for birth place; birth house, referring to the findings of ancient temple complexes which were dedicated to worshipping goddesses of motherhood, fertility, birth and rebirth and where birth and fertility rituals took place. make a big difference, both for maternal health, long term economical profits and how a Birth Center implementation can be done with a low carbon footprint. The concept is easily applicable in real time, and can be used as a guide for spaces wanting to create fundations for a positive and smooth birth experience or a relaxation space.