Elizabeth Soliday: Childbirth in a technocratic age—the documentation of women’s expectations and experiences

Excerpt

Some would argue that the process of childbirth has evolved over recent times to a current state that favors hospital over home births, physicians over other allied health professionals, and convenience that satisfies the pressures intrinsic to the complex health care system that we function within. The author of this book highlights the evolution of childbirth over time into what she currently describes as a highly technocratic process that relies on technology and efficiency. As a result, expectant mothers are seen as having less control in the multitude of steps that lead from pregnancy to delivery and into the postpartum period. The author states that one goal in writing this book was to give a voice to the many women who have remained unheard regarding their childbirth process. This book is based on a case study of 75 females of diverse backgrounds who responded to an advertisement. This is a very organized and readable book that is divided into nine chapters and includes an appendix that contains the “Comprehensive expectant mother interview” (conducted in third trimester) and the “Comprehensive maternal interview” (conducted at 2 months postpartum). Each chapter provides findings from the women interviewed with quotes and study mother’s narratives which provide a personal touch. The author discloses her own negative bias on hospital births as a result of previous employment within the hospital system. This negative bias does appear throughout the text in both explicit and implicit ways. …