Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health 24(2), Winter 2009
Pregnancy as a Rite of Passage:
Liminality, Rituals & Communitas
Denise Côté-Arsenault, PhD, RNC, FNAP, Davya Brody, RNC,
MFA, MS, and Mary-Therese Dombeck, PhD, DMin, RN
University of Rochester, School of Nursing
Abstract: Pregnancy, a major life transition, significantly impacts aspects of a woman’s
physical, psychological and social self. Theoretical perspectives of pregnancy are
compared in terms of their utility. Using the theoretical frameworks of anthropologists
van Gennep and Turner pregnancy is viewed as liminal, a space between social
structures. Passage through pregnancy to parenthood is explored in its social context
as a rite of passage. Viewing pregnancy and birth as a liminal phase provides a
valuable framework for understanding normative and non-normative pregnancy
experiences. Case studies are presented, with application and analysis illustrating the
experience of liminality, and its inherent rituals and communitas.
Key Words: Pregnancy, rite of passage, liminality, rituals, communitas, personhood,
case studies
While searching for theories of pregnancy that could help guide
and explain “being pregnant” the notion of rites of passage and its
inherent liminal phase were explored. Anthropologists, van Gennep
and Turner, wrote seminal works during the twentieth century
identifying contexts and ceremonies surrounding major life events,
such as pregnancy. Ceremonies or rites of passage have assisted
pregnant women through all variations of the childbearing process in
every culture. These were not new thoughts but we discovered that
they invoked paradigm-shifting insights. Viewing pregnancy and
birth through the lens of liminality, with its inherent rituals, provides
a valuable framework for understanding normative and non-
normative pregnancy experiences. Most particularly, the idea of
Author Note: Denise Côté-Arsenault, PhD, RNC, FNAP, Associate and Brody
Professor of Nursing, Davya Brody, RN, MFA, Doctoral Student, Mary-Therese
Dombeck, PhD, DMin, RN Professor, University of Rochester, School of Nursing.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Denise Côté-
Arsenault, PhD, Tel: 585-276-3121 Denise_Cote-Arsenault@urmc.rochester.edu
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© 2009 Association for Pre-and Perinatal Psychology and Health
70 Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health
liminality