Birth in the United States: an overview of trends past and present

The communication and emotional support needs to improve women's experience of childbirth care in health facilities in Southwest Nigeria: A qualitative study

“…Women in this study described their need for effective communication with their health providers. Healthcare providers should strive to “carry women along” (ensure that they understand what is happening to their bodies and what to expect) throughout childbirth, as this has been documented to improve health outcomes . Women expressed that they would like healthcare providers to avoid the use of medical jargon when communicating with them and make their explanations as simple as possible with the use of the local language or the language that the woman prefers when this is feasible.…”

Doula Support and Attitudes of Intrapartum Nurses: A Qualitative Study from the Patient's Perspective

“…By 1930, growing differentiations in social class and an increasing value placed on the medical profession caused a shift from the social childbirth philosophy to a medical-illness model (McCool & Simeone, 2002). The traditional midwives, often black or European immigrants who had been trained either by apprenticeship or at European midwifery schools, were practically abolished (Dawley, 2000).…”

“…Subsequently, continuous caudal anesthesia was developed and, soon after, was followed by introduction of continuous lumbar epidural anesthesia in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, electronic fetal monitoring was introduced into the delivery rooms (McCool & Simeone, 2002).…”

Cross-cultural investigation of birth experience : a comparison between Mexico and the United States.

“…Understanding the transition that occurred in the United States towards allopathic medicine is an important component to constructing a new transition theory. The development of medical technology for birth pain relief caused a shift from a "social childbirth philosophy" to a "medical illness model" of birth in the 1900's (McCool and Simeone 2002). The medical illness model emphasizes the tools of medical intervention and technological monitoring in the pregnancy and labor process.…”

“…The medical illness model is centered on hospitals with obstetricians as the birth practitioners. To encourage hospital-birthing practices and the use of technological interventions, the practices of traditional midwives were devalued (McCool and Simeone 2002) and in some places, like Kentucky, licensing of midwives was suspended. In addition to devaluing the traditional practices, the transition to the medical illness model also included an overvaluing and over-application of novel biomedical resources.…”