Well it has been a few days since my last post and please excuse, I've been in Washington DC for the American Anthropological Association Conference to present a paper 'From Bump to Baby: Gazing at the Fetus in 4D' as part of a panel on 'Technologies of Surveillance'. Now that I'm back in Chicago, here are some thoughts:Firstly, I had the (dis)pleasure of reading 'Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care' by Jennifer Block over the last two days. This is a well-researched and thoroughly read-able piece which is definitely worth the time, but be prepared to be absolutely shocked and appalled (I definitely was!) at the state of the current American maternity system. I can tell you, as someone who does not have any children, the thought of having a baby in America today is so incredibly scary as I sat on the plane reading about 'elective' caesareans, the blackmarket for midwives, VBAC, and the absolutely ludicrous recommendations against homebirth by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), my mouth was actually agape as I read true stories of women in America who have had every ounce of 'choice' taken away from them in a hospital.
Perhaps I have been lulled into a fall sense of security or even idealism in studying the Australian maternity system (which is not perfect by any means). However, the Australian system relies heavily on midwives, women have the choice to give birth at home or in a family birth clinic and of course, there is universal health care. Although the caesarean rate is still extremely high in Australia as it is in America, in my own research the constant use of fetal monitors, giving birth in the lithotomy position (on your back) against gravity, and being at the mercy of doctors who will induce you at the drop of a hat, are oppressive medical rituals that the Australian system has mostly evolved past.
Even more shocking for me was Block's mention that American women's rights groups have not taken any significant action with regard to pregnancy rights, particularly when it comes to VBAC. Block notes the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Center for Reproductive Rights, the National Women's Health Network, and even Planned Parenthood have not been willingly to fight for women to have vaginal births after caesar, for example; the same organisations which have fought for birth control have been staunch in their refusal to address the idea that women are being coerced into major abdominal surgery mostly because of insurance issues (pp.260-1)
As Block argues, the state of pre and postnatal care in America is edging on public health crisis. A woman who has not done extensive research, is confident in her choices, and has people in her life to support her, and is not white or middle-class has very little chance of achieving the birth that she wants without significant medical intervention.
Has anyone else read this book? What are your thoughts? Did your experience of birth become medicalised without your consent?
