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Weaving birth: interdependence and the fungal turn

Summary

This paper explores childbirth through an innovative lens, comparing it to how fungal networks operate—through connection and interdependence rather than isolation. Using real birth stories, the authors show how supportive, trusting care environments allow mothers to surrender to the birthing process, whereas medical systems focused on control and isolation can be traumatic. The paper argues that positive birth experiences happen when pregnant people feel safe, supported, and connected to their care providers, communities, and their own bodies.

Background

Childbirth experiences vary dramatically based on care models, ranging from medicalized, technocratic approaches that emphasize control and isolation to humanistic models emphasizing connection and support. The authors examine how different birthing environments shape maternal subjectivity and experience, using contrasting personal narratives to illustrate these divergent approaches.

Objective

To explore childbirth as a relational experience of collective care by using fungal mycelial networks as a conceptual and metaphorical resource. The paper aims to reframe birth beyond autonomous individualism toward interconnectedness and interdependence, challenging dominant biomedical models.

Results

The analysis demonstrates that positive birth experiences are characterized by feelings of safety, trust, and interconnectedness rather than control alone. The fungal metaphor illuminates how childbirth unfolds within dense networks of biological, social, and ecological connections, with mycelial interdependence serving as a model for understanding maternal-fetal relations and care practices.

Conclusion

Reframing childbirth through the fungal turn offers new ways to imagine positive birth experiences that move beyond medicalized control toward relational connection and interdependence. This framework challenges the autonomous subject model and advocates for obstetric care that fosters collective support, trust, and recognition of pregnancy as a multispecies, transformative process.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Global Women's Health,
  • Study Type:Phenomenological Essay/Theoretical Analysis,
  • Source: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1642537, PMID: 41001247
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