Premium
The Trouble With “Choice” in Childbirth
Author(s) -
Richards M. P. M.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
birth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.233
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1523-536X
pISSN - 0730-7659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-536x.1982.tb01672.x
Subject(s) - childbirth , limiting , limit (mathematics) , spurious relationship , maternity care , nursing , psychology , medicine , computer science , pregnancy , health care , engineering , political science , mathematics , law , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , genetics , machine learning , biology
The alternatives or choices available in childbirth may not address parents' or caregivers' concerns about maternity care adequately because the choices offered are limited, and because parents are not really free to choose. Obstetric care is organized in ways that limit choices, being a hierarchical system dominated by an engineering model of birth, in which caregivers contact parents very briefly and are themselves interchangeable, where efficiency is paramount, and where the technology that has been adopted is confining rather than freeing. Safety is a spurious issue in limiting most choices. Several ways to increase choices in childbirth are discussed.