Women, Power, and Childbirth

It would be an understatement to say childbirth is an intimate event. It is perhaps one of the most personal acts that can be witnessed. The act of birthing new life into the world is also a unifying event each made distinct by cultural beliefs and values inherent to the offspring's familial connections. Where births take place and how they are performed tell us a great deal about the receiving society's views about race, class, norms, family life, and technology. In a world that is technologically advancing everyday, there has been a rise in at-home and mid-wife assisted births over the last years in the United States.1 For those women who have complicated pregnancies, home births are not an option. However, given the choice, a large percentage of women are now freely choosing to have their children delivered at home or at birthing centers with the help of a midwife or doula. They are deliberately choosing convenience over technology at perhaps one of the most important moments of their lives.

The Role of the Midwife

Indisputably, the midwife's role can be traced through the ages. Writings from as far back as the 5th century B.C. as well as the Hebrew Bible have mentioned midwives.2 Like that of a doctor, the fundamental role of the midwife is to assist in the delivery of newborns. However, the midwife is much more than a delivery-person. The biggest component of the midwife-assisted versus hospital-assisted delivery equation is what the midwife brings to the table. Where the doctor's role ends, the midwife's picks up and continues. With just one patient to assist at a time, the midwife is more focused on the task at hand earlier on in the game. Her/his support is significant in comforting the pregnant woman and preparing her for what she is about to accomplish. The main objective of the midwife is to comfort and placate the worries of the woman in a nurturing and loving manner while avoiding the excessive use of invasive procedures as is common in hospital settings.3 The goal for both woman and midwife is to make delivery a pleasant, non-invasive, humanistic process.

Why Choose a Midwife

The larger social perspective is that pregnancy is a condition that requires continuous medical monitoring and intervention from various