The future of birth and the role of the midwife
We live in a world where we no longer really believe that women can give birth without pharmaceutical, technological or medical interventions. Shulamith Firestone (1979) once compared giving birth to 'shitting a pumpkin' and, yes, childbirth hurts - a lot - but it is nonetheless a normal, everyday event for many women all around the globe. The routine medicalisation of childbirth robs women, midwives, and society, of the knowledge and experience of what it is to have a normal birth. Maternity Standard 11 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services states that women should: '. . . have as normal a pregnancy and birth as possible, with medical interventions recommended to them only if they are of benefit to the woman or her baby.'
(DoH, 2004) To this aim, 2005 sees the launch of a major new UK-wide initiative called the Campaign for Normal Birth. This campaign, launched by the Royal College of Midwives, aims to inspire and support normal birth practices and is underpinned by the philosophy of pregnancy and birth as normal physiological processes. The campaign is underpinned by a commitment to the reduction of unnecessary intervention and surveillance during childbirth. If we are to turn back the tide on the medicalisation of birth it is important that we recognise the place of technology in today's world. We must, however, remember that giving birth is a normal physiological process and that the majority of women - given a chance - can achieve a normal birth without intervention.
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