The American Discourse Around Childbirth Pain Management

I believe as a Midwifery Student at Australian Catholic University (ACU) that childbirth is a natural life process. Within my philosophy, my aim is to provide a women-centred care based on evidence- based practice. Also the importance of supporting women with cultural variation, social circumstance and understanding other specific needs throughout the woman’s pregnancy. The women-centred care is an essential quality to a midwife as it ensure that the women is educated in healthy lifestyle choices within pregnancy, childbirth and during parenthood. This relationship of “women-centred care” is the key to midwifery practices as Australian College of Midwives (2009) refers to the philosophy of maternity care that promotes a holistic approach by recognising each women’s social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural needs. In retrospect, it is important to reflect on your past experiences during your midwifery practice but also your life beyond midwifery.

Most Americans associate hospitals to be the standard place where women can give birth. However, women did not always deliver in hospitals. Gynecology, the medical practice dealing with the female reproductive system, did not emerge until the early nineteenth century. Before doctors came along, women used to hire midwives to deliver babies in the comfort of their own homes. In this paper I will examine the social, political, and scientific implications of how giving birth has transitioned from being a midwife’s job into that of a doctor’s. Furthermore, I will attempt to show how these implications intersect together to make birth a feminist issue. To support my argument, I will be referencing Tina Cassidy’s “The Dawn of the Doctors,” Abby Epstein’s documentary film The Business of Being Born, and Eesha Pandit’s article “America’s secret history of forced sterilization: Remembering a disturbing and not-so-distant past.” I argue that the processes surrounding birth are intersectional feminist issues because they are often manipulated by male figures pursuing money and authority, which ultimately compromises women’s health and power of choice.

The idea of childbirth has been viewed in three peculiar ways: a social natural occurrence, as a passage to an early death, and in present times a medical procedure needed when having children. In the seventieth and eighteenth century childbirth was seen as a social celebration conducted by midwives, while in the nineteenth century fear of death arose due to an increase of maternal mortality rates. This time period also served as a transition time between the elimination of the midwife and the emergence of the physician. The transition was due to attitude changes and knowledge understanding. During the twentieth century, medical knowledge expanded and thus the idea of childbirth was medicalized into a medical procedure needed to have healthy children. Childbirth once seen as a natural phenomenon was now an event that needed medical attention by health facilitators at institutions of health. The ideas around childbirth developed based on the knowledge, cultural setting, mortality rates, and professionals available at the time. Based on these ideas it is easy to see how social and behavioral aspects influenced childbirth throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, ninetieth and twentieth centuries. In addition, the communities’ views on childbirth were influenced by the development of public health infrastructure, public health policy advancement and how well public officials were able to disseminate information.

“Brought to Bed”, by Judith Walzer Leavitt, is the story of childbirth in America from 1750 to 1970, and details how women in America dealt with childbirth or being “brought to bed”, the fears they had and how they coped with those fears, as well as the shift from using midwives who came to your home and having a large, female support network surround you, to using doctors and moving from the home setting into a hospital. The book is divided up into several sections, and used the diaries, letters, and notes from both women who were patients and the doctors who tended to them. These chapters deal with the transition from home to hospital by outlining different reasons for why this shift may have occurred, and who the driving force behind this was. The author poses a thesis, “By examining closely the ways childbirth has changed, I hope to illuminate some basic aspects of women’s lives in the past while at the same time analyzing the evolution of medical and

Repeatedly the work of Kanwaljeet Anand is cited when discussing at what stage a fetus can sense pain. His research mentions 20 weeks, which is the earliest estimate currently discussed and challenged by a number of medical doctors. Following his research, a number of states have set 20 weeks as the limit for abortion without an urgent medical reason and some even require anesthesia to be given to the fetus.

Culture is an enormous part of our lives. It can affect every part of our daily living from our health, nutrition, religious beliefs, and communication, to even how one is expected to think and behave. This paper explores various cultural beliefs on childbirth and specifically childbirth positions from three different cultures, Chinese, Indian, and American. The basic differences in cultures permeates one’s perspective on birth and is part of why certain beliefs and restrictions are present. How one brings new life into the world is steeped in traditions unique to each culture.

The idea of childbirth over time has been viewed in at least three different ways: as a social natural occurrence; as a passage to an early death; and in present times as a medical procedure needed when having children. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century childbirth was seen as a social celebration conducted by midwives, while in the nineteenth century fear of death arose due to an increase of maternal mortality rates. This time period also served as a transition time between the elimination of the midwife and the emergence of the physician. The transition was due to attitude changes and medical knowledge understanding. During the twentieth century, biological knowledge expanded and thus the idea of childbirth was medicalized into a medical procedure needed to have healthy children. Childbirth once seen as a natural phenomenon was now an event that needed medical attention by health facilitators at institutions of health. The ideas around childbirth developed based on the knowledge, cultural setting, mortality rates, and professionals available at the time. Based on these ideas it is easy to see how social and behavioral aspects influenced childbirth throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, ninetieth and twentieth centuries. In addition, communities’ views on childbirth were influenced by the development of public health infrastructure, public health policy advancement and how well public officials were able to disseminate information.

Natural childbirth holds an iconic status within midwifery context as an opposition to the medicalization of childbirth. (10:394) It is widely emphasized that women are capable and their bodies intended for pregnancy and birth. (6:236) Although it is held as being emblematic, there is not one universally accepted definition of natural childbirth. (6:241, 10:394, 11:1084, 12: 267) In colloquial discussion, natural birth has, over time, become narrowly associated with a birth free from pharmacological or other interventions. (6:241, 10:394) This concept

During the middle 19th century, little information was known about pregnancy involving the uterus, while in labor, and the importance of labor pain. The study of pain was in it’s infancy. The connection between specific areas of the brain with different purposes correlated to particular receptors for painful stimuli was not well studied or understood. Physicians during this time thought that the administration of anesthesia may pose a safety issue and could be extremely dangerous, possible causing the uterus to paralyzed. People also thought that it was wrong

“An Arab is defined as an individual who was born in an Arab country, speaks the Arabic language, and shares the beliefs of an Arab culture” (Kridli 2002). Many Arabs are very religious and typically practice either Muslim or Christianity. There are 22 countries that make up the ‘Arab world’ they are located in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Did you know that there are about two hundred thousand Arab Americans living in Erie, PA? There has been a great influx in the past decade of Arab Americans coming to and living in Erie County, PA. Since the area is becoming more diverse, it is necessary for nurses to better their communication to enhance the patients’ experience. As a nurse, it is important

This is a study that focused on eighty-three women and examined the effects of cultural and educational influences on the pain in childbirth. The eighty-three women are divided into Middle-Eastern women and Western women. The women ranged in ages from nineteen to thirty-eight. There were thirty people from the Western group and that consisted of women whose mothers were born in Europe, the US or another English speaking country. There were fifty-three women from the Middle Eastern Group and that consisted of women whose mothers were born in Asia, North African or another Middle Eastern countries. The women were classified by the cultures but were also classified by their level education. Those who had twelve years or less of schooling were in the low education group. Those women who had more than twelve years of schooling were in the high education group. In the Western group sixty-six percent were in the high education group. While the Middle Eastern group only had thirty-three point nine percent in the high education group.

When we think about cultural barriers, we tend to think about language, low English proficiency, or even poverty an instrumental barrier to accessing an in-depth care assessment. Male dominant cultures pose a different barrier to the care that is given in this population. Perez states, that in some cultures the man dominates the plan of care while the woman has little say in her treatment plan (Perez & Luquis, 2014). Coming from the Western way of thinking, we tend to address these male dominant occurrences with trepidation until we realize that we are need to be sensitive and understand the culture as whole. It is not always easy to stand back and accept the norms of other cultures. It’s hard to work in the NICU with moms who have just

Hearing the word midwife leaves many people thinking of unprofessional, inexperienced women who help deliver babies naturally, without the help of medication. In truth, nurse-midwives are registered nurses who have attended additional schooling for women’s health and are taught to make women feel as comfortable as possible. In the beginning, remedies were the females’ legacies, their “birthright”; these females were known as “wise-women by the people, witches of charlatans by authorities”. (Ehrenreich, 1973). “Females were wanderers, traveling from one place to another, healing the sick and wounded.” (Ehrenreich 1973). These women were among the first human healers and they were especially helpful when it came to childbearing. The midwives

Childbirth can be described as one of the most rewarding and also painful experiences in a woman’s life. Most women choose some type of method to ease pain, however, there has been a lot of controversy over with pain management method is the most effective. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), In 2013, there were 3,932,181 births recorded in the United States, 32.7% of those births were surgical procedures. In 2012, 1.36% of recorded births occurred out-of-hospital, meaning these births took place mostly in homes or birthing centers. Without the option of medicine that a hospital provides, how were these women able to manage their pain during labor and delivery. There are many different methods for easing pain during childbirth, some methods involve the use of medicine and surgery, and others include natural techniques, such as hypnosis, Lamaze, and many others. It is a personal preference of the parents over which method is right for the needs of the mother and child. This can be an overwhelming decision for new parents to make because they have to take into consideration the safety of the mother and child, pain management for the mother and desire for medical involvement.

Labor may cause the worst pain a woman has ever experienced. However, each woman’s experience of the pains of labor are an individual experience regarding their coping abilities, sensitivity to the sensations of birth, and type of pain. Women also differ in their abilities to tolerate a higher sense of pain without distress whereas, other women experience high levels of distress that caregivers have deemed a moderate level of pain. Accordingly, some birthing mothers under value the pains of labor and are not equipped to cope with it. The process of delivering a baby is a life changing event for women.