Coming home : how midwives changed birth / Wendy Kline.

9780190232542 (electronic book)

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2019.

English

1 online resource : illustrations.

RG950 .K57 2019

618.200973

By the mid-20th century, two things appeared destined for extinction in the US: the practice of home birth & the profession of midwifery. In 1940, close to half of all US births took place in the hospital, & the trend was increasing. By 1970, the percentage of hospital births reached an all-time high, & the obstetrician, rather than the midwife, assumed nearly complete control over what had become a medicalized procedure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an explosion of new altrnative organizations, publications, & conferences cropped up, showing a very different demographic trend; by 1977, the percentage of out-of-hospital births had more than doubled. Drawing on archival materials & interviews with midwives, doctors, & home birth consumers, 'Coming Home' analyzes the ideas & values that led to this quiet revolution, & its long-term consequences for our understanding of birth, medicine, & culture.

By the mid-20th century, two things appeared destined for extinction in the US: the practice of home birth & the profession of midwifery. In 1940, close to half of all US births took place in the hospital, & the trend was increasing. By 1970, the percentage of hospital births reached an all-time high, & the obstetrician, rather than the midwife, assumed nearly complete control over what had become a medicalized procedure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an explosion of new altrnative organizations, publications, & conferences cropped up, showing a very different demographic trend; by 1977, the percentage of out-of-hospital births had more than doubled. Drawing on archival materials & interviews with midwives, doctors, & home birth consumers, 'Coming Home' analyzes the ideas & values that led to this quiet revolution, & its long-term consequences for our understanding of birth, medicine, & culture.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on January 10, 2019).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780190232511

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