‘I’m an arrogant cow because I quarrel with them'. Activist interpreters navigating positionalities in the context of anonymous births

We explore interpreting at anonymous births, presenting data from 13 individual interviews and a group interview with pro-choice activists who provide organizational and linguistic support to Poles traveling to Austria to have an abortion or deliver anonymously. Drawing on research on communication with migrant patients and interpreting in pre-, peri-, and postnatal care, we investigate how the activists view their positionalities in the intricate context of birth. This looks strange in an abstract. I would replace with: We employ an existing typology of healthcare interpreting positionings to study how they navigate the relational dynamics. Our results suggest that where necessary, the activists deliberately position themselves on the patients’ side, using interventionist strategies, such as omission and divergent renditions, to protect them from antagonistic or excessively inquisitive service providers. Rapport-building is crucial in their efforts to strengthen the patients’ position. The activist interpreters promote their clients’ empowerment through empathy and vigilance. While the different positionings help to protect the women’s needs, they may remain non-transparent to the medical team and potentially undermine their control over events.