Giving birth in the hospital has become so normal in our lives that we can’t see any other alternative when thinking about childbirth. Due to the medicalization of childbirth, risks and fears of health complications can be addressed. However, it has led to women not truly being in control of their labor and delivery experience. Although the medical practice comes in handy when there is an emergency, the medicalization of childbirth has created a social reality that simply state that women are not in control of their own labor and delivery. The outcomes of the medicalization of childbirth have good influences on the health of the baby, but a negative effect on the women’s agency power and empowerment. It is important to understand the process of medicalization and how childbirth has undergone that process. According to Riessman in the medicalization article, he defined medicalization as a process in which ‘medical practice becomes a vehicle for eliminating or controlling problematic experiences that are defined as deviant, for the purpose of securing adherence to social norms’ (Brubaker and Dillaway 2009). This meaning that medical intervention becomes an instrumental tool to control what is seen as deviant experiences with the intention of creating a norm for society. The professionalization of medicine and science shows a history of efforts in attempting to control populations and solve what was thought to be social problems (Brubaker and Dillaway 2009). Therefore,
This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.
Giving birth to a baby is the most amazing and miraculous experiences for parents and their loved ones. Every woman’s birth story is different and full of joy. Furthermore, the process from the moment a woman knows that she’s pregnant to being in the delivering room is very critical to both her and the newborn baby. Prenatal care is extremely important and it can impact greatly the quality of life of the baby. In this paper, the topic of giving birth will be discussed thoroughly by describing the stories of two mothers who gave birth in different decades and see how their prenatal cares are different from each other with correlation of the advancement of modern medicine between four decades.
After having less liberty than desired under the care of an Obstetrician while delivering my older sister, my mum decided to seek care from a Midwife for her last two delivers. In comparison to her reflections about her first birth, when recalling my birth she remains enthused about the respect, care and freedom her Midwife gave her. The impact self-governance has on birth always strikes me when my mum speaks of her experiences. It is evident that allowing laboring women to assume ownership of their own bodies affects them, and subsequently their children, for a
Robin Yates’s paper, “Pregnancy and Childbirth, The 1800’s vs. Now: What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting,” was filled with many clear points on the advancement of labor and medicine since the 1800s. This essay was filled with interesting and grabbing facts; however, the structure of the essay needs more support.
The medical industrial complex (MIC) holds many influences in the care of women, especially poor marginalized women. MIC is simply a platform of the network among corporations that supply health care services and products to make money. Oparah and Bonaparte explain how the individual’s ability to pay determines the quality of care they receive (Oparah & Bonaparte, 2015, pg. 4). In relations to birthing, hospitals aren’t a place for an intimate connection between a woman that’s about to give birth and their newborns. It’s more of a time efficiency center where doctors (mainly white men) would purposely perform cesarean deliveries to not only save time, but to make a
When Sarah was out of the bed and standing her whole attitude changed, she was more comfortable and relaxed. Sarah went on to give birth on her hands and knees, there were no complications and the perineum was intact. The student felt that through the use of different positions, listening and observing, she had empowered Sarah to have a normal birth. The two specific topics the author will analyse are positions in labour and the role the midwife plays in facilitating choice.
The theory I selected to apply to the above situation is the Birth Territory theory. This theory was created from empirical data collected by the authors who serve as both midwives and researchers. It has a critical post-structural feminist undertone and elaborates on the ideas of Michel Foucault. The Birth Territory theory predicts and elaborates on the relationships between jurisdiction (use of authority and influence), terrain (the birthing environment), and personal emotional and physiological experience by the mother. This nurse-midwifery theory was chosen because both of the major concepts directly correlate with the incident and are critical aspects of labor and delivery situations. MAYBE ELABORATE A diagram of the Birth Territory theory can be seen in Appendix A.
The paper introduces a sophisticated analysis of the maternity-related issues as well as childbearing policies in the USA. The American documentary “Born in the USA” serves as a material for the study. It is the first public television documentary to provide an in-depth look at childbirth in America. It offers a fascinating overview of birthing, beginning with the early days of our country when almost everyone knew of mothers or babies who died in childbirth. As medicine advanced, maternal and infant mortality rates dropped radically. Hospitals were soon promoted as the safe, modern way to have a baby. The film reveals some crucial specifications of pregnancy, giving birth to a child and raising an offspring in the United States. Specifically, it verifies a general assumption, according to which American obstetricians possess a worldwide recognition, due to their proficiency (Wagner, 2008, p. 4). Moreover, the paper reviews such issues as pregnancy
For hundred of years, women have wrestled with their womanhood, bodies, and what it means to be a woman in our society. Being a woman comes with a wonderful and empowering responsibility--giving birth. What sets us aside from other countries is that the process and expectations of giving birth has changed in our society; coming from midwifery, as it has always been since the early times, to hospitals where it is now expected to give birth at. Midwifery was a common practice in delivering babies in
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 author is a nurse in a level two trauma facility in a community of approximately fifty thousand people in Oregon. The community is a college-town surrounded by a large agricultural area. There is a minimal ethnic diversity within the community. The diversity present occurs mainly from internationally students and faculty from the college. There is a growing population of women who desire low interventional births in the community. The author has worked on the labor and delivery unit of the hospital for the last 14 years. The hospital is the only one in the area to offer trial of labor services to women who have previously undergone a cesarean section. The unit on average experiences around 1000 deliveries annually.
Does everybody think or feels the same about childbirth around the world? This question above is a question that has always been in my mind. Now that I got the opportunity of choosing a topic to do research. I decided to choose childbirth and culture. This research paper is going to talk about how different cultures and countries look a birth in an entirely different manner. Some look at birth as a battle and others as a struggle. And on some occasions, the pregnant mother could be known as unclean or in other places where the placenta is belief to be a guardian angel. These beliefs could be strange for us but for the culture in which this is being practiced is natural and a tradition. I am going to be introducing natural and c-section childbirth. And, the place of childbirth is going to be a topic in this essay. America is one country included in this research paper.
According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.
There has been a long debate over which birthing method women should use today: natural versus medicalized. The World Health Organization defines natural birth as a vaginal birth without the use of any.. and medicalized birth as being .. However, medicalized births are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. The use of technology and medical interventions in the birthing process has increased despite the unchanged basic physiology of childbirth. One of the most common medical interventions in the birthing process is having a cesarean delivery. Despite the known risks of having a cesarean section performed, the rates of this procedure have increased much higher than the acceptable rate of 10-15% as recommended by the World Health Organization. This is due to the reason that cesarean sections are now being performed as a matter of convenience of the physician or at the request of the patient more often than being performed as a life-saving intervention. Thus making surgical and medicalized interventions a part of a common routine in the childbirth experience.
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.