Modern maternity care: does safety have to take the meaning out of birth?
In this paper the author questions whether a medical model is sufficient for our understanding of the complexity of childbirth, and for the provision of high quality maternity care. The importance of a psychological perspective is stressed by describing the adaptive processes during pregnancy and birth, and by analysing the impact of certain medical procedures on women's experiences, such as ultrasound screening during pregnancy and obstetric analgesia in labour. The paper is modified from the "Meredith Memorial Lecture 1995' given at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and a Keynote address at the 24th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives in Oslo, May 1996.
Waldenström
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Graduate Clinical School of Midwivery and Women's Health, La Trobe University, Royal Women's Hospital Campus, Victoria, Australia.
D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology*; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D011247:Pregnancy; D011787:Quality of Health Care