Childbirth through American History

Over the years, childbirth has not been viewed as a peaceful experience. This has made it the subject of major cultural attitudes ranging from those voiced by the religious groups to the scientific, public and social sector. This has been so, because of the wrapped up fear, pain and other factors that surrounds childbirth. Childbirth needs a deeper understanding, process and faith to have a successful birth process. Countries need the long term perspectives to enable women walk in to birth experience feeling confident, and eagerness to have a successful birth process full of joy and serenity. Women saw the need to attend hospitals during labor because of the paper published described childbirth as a pathological process.

Childbirth trends changed drastically from the late 1800, because public hygiene began to be applied successfully. Midwifery began to decline because prejudice against intelligence and the capability of women, immigrants poor people and blacks was used to defame the midwifery. Midwives were not in position of power, and thus, were not recognized since they made little money. They were not organized and failed to see themselves as professionals. With the introduction of surgery in the early 1900’s, the abdomen was the main field of surgical intervention. Physicians started attending half the nation’s births, including all the births of the upper classes and middle class of the society. Those who could not afford medical births still opted for midwives. The percentage of women who gave birth in hospitals was still 5% by this time.

By 1904 during the crisis in hospital finance, new policies and changes in management led to the education of more doctors. Doctors then saw midwifery as indecent, uneducated and perpetuating, and started condemning the practice. Most women became attracted to hospitals because hospitals started offering painless births that midwives did not offer. Health insurance was endorsed, and with it, on phase three of public health, the public health offered emphasis and education in personal hygiene and advocated for patients to see physicians as the force in prevention and curing diseases. By 1912, the Federal Children’s Bureau was founded to investigate the increased mortality rate. They were supposed to provide accurate information on the child health among other things. Maternity hospital was founded in 1914 in Boston’s Back Bay by Dr. Eliza Taylor. This increased the number of women receiving care during the child birth. Dr. Taylor also began the New England Twilight Sleep Association that forced hospitals to offer birth procedures.

Women saw the need to attend hospitals during labor, because of the paper published by Dr. DeLee in 1915 that described childbirth as a pathological process. He advised that childbirth was not a normal function, and midwives should not take place in it. Baby clinics sprouted, and by this time they were 538 in number across America. Labor legislation of 1950 also saw an increase of hospital births because it catered for medical costs and maternity benefits for women. Being thought as frail, they tried everything to get rid of the pain in childbirths. The economic prosperity of 1920’s saw an increase in the number of middleclass women; they, therefore, wanted doctors and not lower class midwives who were easily available. People were advised by doctors that normal delivery in women was rare and intervention was needed at every delivery to prevent trouble.

Through radio, which became a medium for commercial advertising in 1920’s, Dr. DeLee suggested a sequence of the medical interventions designed in order to save the women population from complications arising from the natural birth. Between 1900 and 1930, maternity death rate reached a plateau with 600-700 deaths experienced per 100,000 births carried. This, according to the doctors, was a milestone in medical history. By 1932, qualified health nurses were taught midwifery, this also led to the increase in the number of women attending hospitals, since 50 percent and 75 percent of urban women delivered in hospitals. Until 10960, CNM was introduced by Sister Mary Stella to provide the family centered maternity care; midwife section of the National Organization for public Health Nursing development was also formed with an emphasis on pregnancy and viewing of childbirths as a normal process.

Until now, several steps have been covered starting from the idea that preferred site for child birth became the hospital because of its advantages. Lay midwifery was revived in 1970, and by 1990, Managed Care Organizations enrolled midwives and bared those who were not part of the organization from taking part in the practice. To be given a midwifery care during the childbirth, a policy was put in place advocating that the entire family needed to have enrolled in an organization providing the care to make a pregnant mother be liable to be provided a midwife. Midwifery became a profession by 1992, after the governor of New York signed a professional midwifery act into law. Most women became attracted to hospitals, because hospitals started offering painless births that midwives did not offer. Health insurance was endorsed and with it, on phase three of public health, the public health offered emphasis and education in personal hygiene, and advocated for patients to see physicians as the force in prevention and curing diseases.

In the U.S., most births occur in hospitals in the presence of obstetricians. In other developed countries, such as Sweden, U.K and Japan, childbirths in most cases are left to the midwives. The midwives in these countries have far outnumbered obstetricians. This is similar to American history, where midwives attended most of the births. They practiced this from their homes passing the skills, learned from one woman to another. From this early period, the West African women came to America as slaves and midwives, and attended the birth of both the blacks and the white women from the antebellum south. After the steps made against the midwifery, African American midwifes continued the practice, taking care of the poor black and white women in the rural South of the U.S. The midwives here were referred to as “granny midwives.” Similarly, American Indians try to have their own midwives who would follow their midwifery traditions. Britain and Europe had national midwifery laws, while in America midwifery was local and varied widely. America had few midwifery schools. since the law requiring legalizing the education could not be enforced. This made the few doctors who were present then attend to both poor and rich women.

Until sometime in American history, it was not practical to outlaw the midwifery, since few doctors were positioned and were unwilling to attend to poor women. On the other hand, midwifery was practiced in most states without the government control until 1920’s. By early 20^th century, midwives attended about a half of all American births, while physicians attended the other births. Currently, midwifery regulations vary from state to state, since a series of events set the stage for doctors and physicians to usurp the traditional roles of the midwives. The doctors brought forward pathology-oriented medical model of childbirth. Tabled reports to improve obstetric training have also suggested that women should be hospitalized for deliveries to avoid midwifery attendance. Poor women, on the other hand, were advised to try and attend the charity hospitals for their childbirths.

Over the years, childbirth has not been viewed as a peaceful experience. This has made it the subject of major cultural attitudes ranging from those voiced by the religious groups to the scientific, public and social sector. This has been so, because of the wrapped up fear, pain and other factors that surrounds childbirth. Childbirth needs a deeper understanding, process and faith to have a successful birth process. Countries need the long-term perspectives to enable women walk in to birth experience, feeling confident and eager to have a successful birth process full of joy and serenity. Women saw the need to attend hospitals during labor, because of the paper published descried childbirth as a pathological process. He advised that childbirth was not a normal function, and midwives should not take place in it. Baby clinics sprouted, and by this time, they were 538 in number across America. Labor legislation of 1950 also saw an increase of hospital births, because it catered for medical costs and maternity benefits for women. Being thought as frail, they tried everything to get rid of the pain of childbirths. The economic prosperity of 1990’s saw an increase in number of middleclass women; they, therefore, wanted doctors and not lower class midwives who were easily available