Open AccessTreatment of women in childbirth: implications for family beginnings.
Author(s) -
Sheldon Danziger
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.69.9.895
Subject(s) - childbirth , observational study , context (archaeology) , ethnography , medicine , nursing , family medicine , pregnancy , psychology , sociology , history , genetics , archaeology , pathology , anthropology , biology
This paper presents an ethnographic analysis of a woman's interaction with staff members during the early stage of labor, focusing on the factors that shape the childbirth experience. The observational data were gathered in several hospitals as part of a study of the medical context of childbearing. The paper presents a model of naturalistic inquiry into the transition to parenthood. Nurses and physicians are found to offer arbitrary, uniform, and often inappropriate responses to birthing women that may inhibit well-being.