Book Review

摘要

reconstructs the history of colonial efforts to introduce ‘modern’ maternity and childbirth practices to Vietnam during the French colonial era. Using reproduction as a lens, Thuy Linh Nguyen illustrates the ways in which the colonial encounter – as it pertained to medicine – was one of adaptation, compromise, negotiation and transformation for both the Vietnamese and the French. In particular, the book examines how French efforts to relocate maternity and infant care into a clinical setting led to a pluralistic medical system due to misunderstandings, the failure of colonial physicians to recognise the cultural and religious significance of embedded maternity and infant care practices, and local resistance by indigenous medical practitioners and pregnant women.