"To change the world, we must first change the way the babies are being born”, said Dr. Michel Odent, the famous French obstetrician, and a pioneer of the “natural birth” movement. This quotable phrase has been widespread in activism campaigns, and it refers to a project for social change that goes beyond birth. Conceiving childbirth in the broader social context, it’s not surprising this emblematic quote inspires emancipatory struggles around birth. This chapter results from a study of childbirth activism in different European contexts, where I explore the emergence and the modes of action of social movements advocating for the humanization of childbirth and women’s rights in pregnancy and childbirth. Starting from the analysis of the main characteristics of childbirth activism, in this chapter, I briefly analyse the cases of organizations from Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands as well as a campaign promoted by the European Network of Childbirth Associations (ENCA). For such, I mobilize empirical data resulting from a plural methodology, based on documentary analysis, interviews and participant observation in the different settings. As preliminary results, this chapter shows how childbirth activism is contributing to the construction of alternative conceptions of birth, challenging established paradigms. In its differences and similarities, childbirth activism assumes distinct features, but it also shows the ability to adapt and promote changes, depending on the specificities of the contexts where it operates.

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