general philosophic question about midwives

[pregnantresearcher]

Hi. As many of you know I am a grad student doing research for my thesis on midwifery. Your answers to my questions will be confidential with name, etc. changed.

In the 60s & 70s, using a midwife was connected to feminism. Do you think it still is today, or is some other social movement or reasoning coming into play?

[kathan12904]

I think that its a misconception by OBs and other medical minded folks that a midwife is a feminist and any woman who uses one is too, but honestly, most midwives, at least that I've come across in the midwife hostile midwest, work in traditional communities and get a majority of their clientel from menenites(sp?) and the amish.

[Ruthla]

I don't give a darn about what's considered "feminism" or not. I chose homebirths because I don't beleive healthy mamas and babies belong in hospitals, and I didn't want my births to be treated like a medical event.

[midwifetx]

I would say that zero out of 349 of my clients chose homebirth for feminist reasons.

My mother homebirthed in the 1970's and she didn't do it for feminist reasons either. She wanted a leboyer style birth for her baby, and a homebirth was the only way to get it.

[christifav]

The medical model of birth is very paternalistic and I do think it "de-powers" (what is the opposite of "empower"?) women to a degree. Like we're not capable of birthing a child without the help of men. Even if all the medical staff are women, the whole philosophy of medical childbirth started with men "saving" us from our own bodies.

Have you read "Birth as an American Rite of Passage"? It is excellent.

I am choosing hb not for feminist reasons, but b/c I, too, don't think birth is a medical event. Docs just get involved where they don't need to be and mess up an otherwise natural process. Very similar to why I won't circ, don't vax. There is a time and place for medical care, but in general it is way overused.

[Emilie]

I do recognize myself as a feminist. This is who I am- so of course it plays a part in my decisions.

I feel that my birth was not exactly for FEMENIST reasons- But I am a woman and I can birth naturally at home because that is a special part of being woman- birthing.

I am a feminist. I do not need to be surrounded by men and medical equiptment to "save me" from my baby and birth.

I birthed at home because to me having a baby is the most special thing I have ever done- and IMO Doctors do not treat it this way.

[zoebird]

i think it's either associated with 'traditionalism' 'fundamentalism' or with feminism. it really depends upon the woman.

i see it as a feminism-related issue--social agency and governmental right to choose care providers.

[Emmeline II]

Why must it be called feminist to not want to be told how you will birth your own baby? Not wanting your vagina looked at by a bunch of strangers who put their hands inside to check that you are adhearing to their arbitrary time limits of birth, inviting infection and unecessary medical interventions? Not wanting to have your life or your babies life put at risk because doctors do not know what is a normal natural birth is, and cannot be at a birth without feeling compelled to act? Why isn't homebirth just another healthcare choice?

I suppose if there is any "movement" at all it is because the internet allows women in areas where they would not know a midwife if they tripped over one to be exposed to women who have midwives and do homebirth. Now women are increasingly likely to know that they can choose.

[boscopup]

I'm definitely not a feminist (I said in my wedding that I would "submit" to my husband, for example - and I meant it), and I choose a midwife-attended out-of-hospital birth because I believe it is the safest and most natural choice for the birth of my baby. Has nothing to do with feminism for me. I don't like hospitals, I don't like the hospital birthing atmosphere or the typical interventions used in hospitals, and I would like to avoid it if at all possible.

[Phoebe]

I am by no means a feminist...not in the 1960's sense anyway. My place is in the home...and in the kitchen...barefoot and pregnant!!
I don't think it is connected to feminism really. It may have begun that way because there used to by fewer women Dr.s for a pregnant woman to turn to for care, and men had drastically changed the way birth was done over the past century or so. But now I think women who choose a midwife do so because they want to actually experience birth as it should be, which is very hard to do under a medical model of care, male or female care provider.

This may seem a bit off but I would connect choosing a midwife as opposed to a medical Dr. due to more of an environmentalist movement more than feminism.

Amy

[LuvinBabes]

Without recapping the various feminist movements throughout history to present day - I think that a main focal point of feminist thought has to do with society and individuals aknowlegding(?) that a female being is capable of making decisions in regard to her self and all that she governs

i believe that this directly relates to women speaking/standing up for themselves and their families as to what they believe to be best way for them to birth - hospital, house, hillside

feminism is about choice and freedom from constraints and imposed standards

homebirth is a choice that some are able to choose

[pamamidwife]

I am a feminist because I think women deserve to be supported whether they're barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen or working outside the home. But, as a midwife, I will say that I see many other feminists choosing hospital births. I don't think it has to do with feminism, but an awareness of your body and the truth about the medical model approach to birth. This crosses many belief systems.

[BelgianSheepDog]

I don't think feminism is about being "tough," necessarily. Thinking women should be treated as human beings and not as animals is hardly an extremist belief, yet I sense a definite negative tone around the word "feminist" in this discussion.

[pamamidwife]

Originally Posted by BelgianSheepDog

, yet I sense a definite negative tone around the word "feminist" in this discussion.

I agree. It's sad that a word that signifies that you believe men and women should have equal rights has totally taken on this fictitious definition.

[amygoforth]

My midwife/homebirth choice is a result of being an educated consumer. I knew what I wanted for my birth, and the OB/hospital model didn't provide it.

[ZeldasMom]

I am a feminist and chose a homebirth. One thing I notice among some homebirthers I know is that they are feminists, but of a much more essentialist flavor than I am.

[Patchfire]

I am a feminist, and while it was not my primary reason for choosing homebirth, I think there are definitely links between birthing outside the technocratic model and feminism. (And may I say I'm so excited to hear Robbie Davis-Floyd speak this weekend!)

[cottonwood]

In total agreement with LuvInBabes, Pamamidwife, and BelgianSheepDog.

I don't know what it was like 40 years ago, but the feminist movement today seems to me to so little interested in birthing rights and birth awareness that I would be shocked if someone assumed I was a feminist just because I give birth at home.

[jyurina]

I consider myself a feminist because I simply believe that as a woman I deserve to be treated as a human being regardless of sex. My husband is the same way. We went the midwife route after being treated as if we were idiots by the OB that caught my son (despite his best efforts to "deliver" my son-I still did the work) and most of the hospital staff. I guess it depends on your idea of a feminist. If you believe as I do that a feminist is simply a person that person that is outspoken against sexism, than yes, choosing a caregiver like a midwife that trusts that I know what to do with MY body was a feminist choice.

[mwherbs]

I am old enough to remember feminism of the 60's and 70's because of very activist feminsim most everyone is still rolling on those waves- so in most of the households we serve we have moms even stay at home moms who think that housework saring and some childcare is essential in a partner on the other hand many young women who also think that doing their "share" of bill paying is not happening so they push what they think they should be getting done in the home, or how soon they should get back to work. as far as currently active feminists sure some are still but home birth as a choice may have to do more with trust in birth, fear of medical you name it and being treated as an individual rather than just another person in an institution. so less about patriarchy and more about personal choice anti-institutionalization.
I relate this to what Robert Bly talks about in the post-industrial society, where the value of the individual has fallen and we are all struggling for our place and to be treatend as an individual rather than tramped by the machine.