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Personal Beliefs and Alternative Childbirth Choices: A Survey of 552 Women Who Planned to Give Birth at Home
Author(s) -
Bastian Hilda
Publication year - 1993
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.1993.tb00225.x
Subject(s) - childbirth , home birth , psychology , obstetrics , medicine , nursing , pregnancy , biology , genetics
In Australia, planning to give birth at home was unusual in the middle to late 1980s, a choice made by only about 0.5 percent of women. This study investigated the personal beliefs and circumstances of 552 women who planned to give birth at home. Results showed that these women came from diverse backgrounds and beliefs, although in general they were of higher than average educational and occupational status, and less likely to hold Christian beliefs relative to the Australian community in general. Their lives and experiences rejected both unconventional and more traditional choices, and the view that women who give birth at home characteristically belong to the counterculture could not be justified. The findings of this study suggest that stereotypes of women who give birth at home do not apply to the circumstances of substantial numbers of women.