Forum Talk: Swimming through pregnancy, birth and matrescence
Speaker: Eva McGrath, Research Fellow School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth
Abstract: There is a knowledge gap around pregnant women’s experiences of open water swimming both within the social research sphere and in wider public health. This research presentation takes us through the cycle of conception, pregnancy, birth and matrescence, using the water (icy cold; hold) as a way of making sense of the origins and aftermath of life through birth. Based on an ethnography following 18 women who swam in the sea during their pregnancy in Devon and Cornwall, I share poems, photos and diaries of women who use water to reflect upon the gritty as well as beautiful aspects of their bodies, identities, health and caring responsibilities whilst pregnant and in matrescense. Pregnant women invite us to reflect upon wider conversations and universal concerns about water quality, water conditions, physical and mental health.
