Guillermo Javier De Cicco will offer two conferences on the history and physiology of birth during his IPOV secondment at Vall d’Hebron

The conferences will take place at Vall d’Hebron on Monday 06/07/2026 at 16:00 hs, in the room on the 2nd floor of the Paediatrics area, and on Tuesday 07/07/2026 at 08:00 hs, in the Assembly Hall.

As part of the IPOV – RESPECTFUL CARE project, Guillermo Javier De Cicco, researcher and obstetrician at the Maternal and Child Hospital of San Isidro, Argentina, will offer two conferences during his secondment at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute – VHIR in Barcelona, Spain.

His stay is hosted by Alba Crespo, Integrative Clinical Midwife in Maternal-Fetal Health at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute. This secondment forms part of the interdisciplinary and intersectoral staff exchange activities promoted by IPOV – RESPECTFUL CARE, a European project focused on advancing knowledge, training and public debate around respectful maternity care and obstetric violence.

The two conferences will address key dimensions of childbirth from complementary perspectives: the historical transformation of birth settings and the physiological complexity of pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period.

Birth settings throughout history

The first conference, “Birth settings throughout history”, will explore the historical evolution of the places, practices and knowledge systems associated with birth, from early human communities to contemporary obstetrics.

From a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, the session will examine how childbirth care has changed over time, including the progressive medicalisation of birth and the consolidation of the biomedical model. It will also address the emergence of the concept of obstetric violence and the development of current movements advocating for humanised care, respectful birth and the protection of women’s rights during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

This conference invites reflection on the contemporary challenge of building care models that integrate scientific evidence, respect for physiology, women’s autonomy, quality of care and respectful maternity practices.

Physiology of birth and labour: an integral perspective

The second conference, “Physiology of birth and labour: an integral perspective”, will focus on birth as a complex physiological process shaped by biological, emotional, psychological, social and environmental dimensions.

The presentation will review the physiology of pregnancy, labour, birth and the puerperium from an integrative perspective, incorporating contributions from psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology and the salutogenic model. Special attention will be given to the hormonal and neuroendocrine changes that accompany maternity, analysing how these processes regulate essential biological functions while also influencing emotions, stress responses, behaviour, early bonding and maternal-neonatal adaptation.

The session will also consider the role of the environment as a modulator of birth physiology, as well as the cultural, social and institutional practices that can either support or interfere with physiological birth and postpartum adaptation.

By focusing on health, women’s resources and autonomy, the conference will highlight strategies to promote safe, respectful and enabling environments for childbirth, contributing to positive birth experiences for mothers, newborns and families.

International exchange for respectful maternity care

Through these conferences, Guillermo Javier De Cicco’s secondment at Vall d’Hebron contributes to IPOV’s broader objective of strengthening international collaboration, knowledge exchange and professional dialogue on respectful maternity care.

The activities will create a space for reflection between clinical practice, research and human rights, supporting the development of care approaches that recognise childbirth as both a physiological and social experience, and that place women, newborns and families at the centre of care.

Within the framework of Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchanges, secondments are a key tool for promoting international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral cooperation. These exchanges enable researchers and professionals to share knowledge, methodologies and experiences across institutions, countries and fields of practice.

In the case of IPOV – RESPECTFUL CARE, these stays strengthen the study of obstetric violence from a broad perspective, connecting research, clinical practice, training, human rights and civil society. Their value lies in fostering mutual learning, knowledge transfer and the creation of lasting networks capable of advancing more respectful, evidence-based maternity care models centred on women, newborns and families.

Funded by the European Union Programme HORIZON-MSCA-2022-Staff Exchange. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.