Table of contents : Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Birthing Beyond the Confinements of Tradition and Modernity? 1. From Mā'uli to Motivator: Transformations in Reproductive Health Care in Tonga 2. Childbirth in Papua New Guinean Villages and in Port Moresby General Hospital 3. Obligatory Maternity and Diminished Reproductive Autonomy in A‘jië and Paicî Kanak Societies: A Female Perspective 4. Native Obstetric Nursing in Fiji 5. Colonial Impregnations: Reconceptions of Maternal Health Practice on Nua‘ata, Papua New Guinea 6. From Darkness to Light? Epidemiologies and Ethnographies of Motherhood in Vanuatu Conclusion. Wider Reflections and a Survey of Literature References Contributors Index