Licensed lay midwifery and the medical model of childbirth

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2250830
AutoresRose Weitz (Arizona State University), Deborah A Sullivan (Arizona State University), Deborah Sullivan
Año1985
Volumen7
Número1
Páginas36-54
Fecha de publicación1985-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.ep10831346
PMID10271231
OpenAlexW1978490607
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas17

Previous research has tended to equate lay midwifery with demedicalized care. This paper analyzes how licensed lay midwives in Arizona have been pressured towards a more medical model of childbirth. Licensing has affected midwives' beliefs and practices through increasing their exposure to medical definitions of childbirth and making them legally accountable to the medically dominated State Department of Health Services. The midwives' cumulative experience with handling obstetrical problems has also affected their definitions of childbirth. The midwives have maintained a commitment to holistic care, but have moved towards a more hierarchical style of practice due to changes in their clientele, the need for efficient bureaucratic arrangements, and the desire to earn a living at midwifery

Bureaucracy · Childbirth · Health care · Obstetrics · Political science · Pregnancy · State (computer science · Computer Science · Law · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology