The vanishing mother: Cesarean section and "evidence-based obstetrics".
The philosophy of "evidence-based medicine"--basing medical decisions on evidence from randomized controlled trials and other forms of aggregate data rather than on clinical experience or expert opinion--has swept U.S. medical practice in recent years. Obstetricians justify recent increases in the use of cesarean section, and dramatic decreases in vaginal birth following previous cesarean, as evidence-based obstetrical practice. Analysis of pivotal "evidence" supporting cesarean demonstrates that the data are a product of its social milieu: The mother's body disappears from analytical view; images of fetal safety are marketing tools; technology magically wards off the unpredictability and danger of birth. These changes in practice have profound implications for maternal and child health. A feminist project within obstetrics is both feasible and urgently needed as one locus of resistance.
Wendland
Claire L
CL
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009035:Mothers; D009774:Obstetrics; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States