La mère « africaine » en suites de couches, analyse d'une figure sociale

This article analyses the process of ethnic and racial categorisation of patients by care providers, in public maternity hospitals, in Paris area. Only the qualitative research (interviews of care providers acting in maternities, interviews of patients, and moments of participant observation) is used. We show, based on examples of “African”-perceived women, that they can impact their medical course, and the limits of this type of categorisation, influenced by socioeconomic issues and the “black”-skin recognition. It also appears that the initial categorisation of women as “African” concedes them margins of negotiation, with positive or mixed results. Finally, we show how the image of the “African mother”, echoing to the collective imaginary of women roles in newborn's care, contributes to the reproduction of a gendered and racial social order in France.