Haredi Women and Reproduction

***Research Completed***

I conducted my research for the book that became Conceiving Agency over a two-year period in Jerusalem using a traditional anthropological methodology of participant and nonparticipant observation and interviews. I interviewed twenty-three Haredi women multiple times over the two years. All of the women who shared their pregnancy narratives were put in contact with me through snowball sampling. Although a few were pregnant at the time of the first interview, many were not but had been pregnant within the year prior to the interview. All had at least three children. Two women were older and already had grandchildren at the time of the interview. All were Israeli, and most of the interviews were conducted in Hebrew. My research also included interviews with almost twenty-five medical professionals. I spoke to thirteen doctors and nurses who work with Haredi women.I also interviewed eleven doulas (labor coaches) who cater to Haredi women. During my two years in Jerusalem (2009-2011) I also observed in a few medical settings. I observed ultrasound examinations with Haredi women at two prenatal clinics in Jerusalem. One was a prenatal clinic based in a Haredi neighborhood and catering to Haredi clients, while the other was an ultrasound clinic located in a large hospital in Jerusalem. I also explored other educational settings for Haredi women, such as weekly classes for Haredi women on a variety of topics. Finally, I conducted a year of participant-observation with Efrat, the largest antiabortion organization in Israel.

I obtained approval from the Institutional Review Board at Northwestern University and received the consent of all research participants. I recorded almost all of the interviews I conducted and then transcribed them. After each interview, I also took extensive notes, wherein I documented my description of the apartment, the general atmosphere for the interview, some nonverbal cues, and my own reactions to the interview. For all except two of the interviews I was able to do this within a week of the interview, ensuring the most accurate recall. I stored and organized my data using the NVivo software, and my conclusions in my book derive from this grounded research.