https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZQ85SD9
I will be sharing this with friends and family, and also posting it onto Tumblr, so that it isn’t just people in my “bubble” who will be taking the survey.
Online Survey
I’ve decided to do an online survey to gain my own data about how people in the West feel about childbirth, whether in a hospital or at home.
As I am going to be using Surveymonkey to do this, I looked at their guidelines for a good survey, which I will do my best to follow.
The guidelines: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/mp/writing-survey-questions/
In my survey, I aim to find out about the modern perceptions of childbirth, and whether people think there is too much medical intervention. This survey will only serve the purpose of gaining an idea of perceptions; I will conduct interviews later to find out about women’s experiences.
New Topic
I have decided to narrow my topic down by changing my title to “Is childbirth becoming too medicalised in Western society?” This still encompasses a broad range of topics such as natural childbirth, epidurals and Caesarean sections. It also gives me a bit more focus than my previous title.
Change my Title?
I am starting to think my title may be too broad as it encompasses so many topics. I may choose a narrower topic to study; there are two debates I am considering:
- Is childbirth becoming too medicalised?
- Home birth vs Hospital Birth debate
Some Interesting Resources
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin– a pro natural birth novel by the pioneer of the natural birth movement
The Birthplace Study– compares the merits of a home birth compared to a hospital birth
The Impact of Choice and Control on Women’s Childbirth Experiences– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392605/#jpe.1058-1243.21.3.158.bib004
Empowering Pregnant Women for Positive Birth Experiences– http://whiteribbonalliance.org/rmc-blogs/empowering-pregnant-women-positive-birth-experiences-addressing-rmc-united-kingdom/
Over Medicalisation of Childbirth in Developing countries– http://dspace.itg.be/bitstream/handle/10390/2659/2001shsop0191.pdf?sequence=2
Has the Medicalisation of Childbirth Gone too Far?- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alison_Macfarlane/publication/11415731_Has_the_medicalisation_of_childbirth_gone_too_far/links/00b49526ea27c77331000000.pdf
Medicalisation of Childbirth– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122835/
Ann Oakley’s Perspective (author of Women Confined)– http://www.socialsciencespace.com/2013/04/podcast-ann-oakley-on-womens-experience-of-childbirth/ . She said “The medicalisation of childbirth has changed the subjective experience of reproduction altogether, making dependence on others instead of dependence on self a condition of the achievement of motherhood”
The New Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger– in the college library. Page 324 is especially useful- “I was made to lie flat on my back for hours. I felt like a lump of meat, being poked and prodded as if my body didn’t belong to me”
Is Home Birth Safe?– http://ishomebirthsafe.blogspot.co.uk/ . A sceptical look at the home birth movement.
Midwives’ Alliance– https://mana.org/research-main
Amy Tuteur– a home birth sceptic. http://www.skepticalob.com/
Why Birth is a Feminist Issue– “We weren’t encouraged to ask questions, but to depend on the so-called experts. Not having a say in our own health care frustrated and angered us. We didn’t have the information we needed, so we decided to find it on our own.” https://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/organiser-articles/why-birth-feminist-issue
Are American Homebirths Dangerous?– https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/opinion/sunday/why-is-american-home-birth-so-dangerous.html?_r=1
Initial Ideas
My first idea was to look at the impact that Western media has on the fear of childbirth in today’s society. However, there is very little research on this topic, and if I were to do an investigation myself, I would struggle to form a control group, as we are all exposed to the media every day of our lives. Therefore, an alternative concept is needed, although I am very interested in Western perceptions of childbirth as an event.
Below are some of the other ideas I have come up with. At this point in time, I would like to look at the impact of technological advancements on the levels of control women feel they have during pregnancy and labour. This encompasses many of the issues I’m interested in; for instance epidurals, Caesarean births, the impact of pregnancy on mental health, and the role of the midwife or doula. I could also bring into this the “too posh to push” debate, and look at the rise of the home birth movement. I’m hoping to look at research done by others, such as Ina May Gaskin (a hero of mine) and also interview women that I know about their own experiences of pregnancy and childbirth.
Midwifery EPQ 