A close look at stories of maternal death in Malawi that considers their implications in the broader arena of medical knowledge.

By the early twenty-first century, about one woman in twelve could expect to die of a pregnancy or childbirth complication in Malawi. Specific deaths became object lessons. Explanatory stories circulated through hospitals and villages, proliferating among a range of practitioners: nurse-midwives, traditional birth attendants, doctors, epidemiologists, herbalists. Was biology to blame? Economic underdevelopment? Immoral behavior? Tradition? Were the dead themselves at fault? 

In Partial Stories, Claire L. Wendland considers these explanations for maternal death, showing how they reflect competing visions of the past and shared concerns about social change. Drawing on extended fieldwork, Wendland reveals how efforts to legitimate a single story as the authoritative version can render care more dangerous than it might otherwise be. Historical, biological, technological, ethical, statistical, and political perspectives on death usually circulate in different expert communities and different bodies of literature. Here, Wendland considers them together, illuminating dilemmas of maternity care in contexts of acute change, chronic scarcity, and endemic inequity within Malawi and beyond.

"“A well-written, compelling, dynamic narrative that broadens and complicates readers’ understanding of the contributing causes and impacts of maternal mortality. . . . Highly recommended.”" - Choice

"“Partial Stories offers a new narrative about maternal death in Africa by undermining ‘the notion that any of the single stories we already think we know is definitive.’ . . . The care Wendland put into thinking about how to tell the stories she shares is evident throughout.” " - Medical Anthropology Quarterly

"“Partial Stories is an extraordinary accomplishment. It is that rare book that comes along and forever transforms how a perennial social problem is seen and thought about. The study is unmatched in its sheer breadth, and complex and nuanced depth, reflecting the rich experience, expertise, and empathetic knowledge brought to bear by Wendland. This book is a must-read for mortality scholars and maternal health policymakers.”" - Population and Development Review

"“I really enjoyed reading this book. . . . It’s a book that, to me, speaks to the reader’s humanity at least as much as it speaks to their intellect.”" - New Books Network