Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2018 |
Outros Autores: | |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008 |
Resumo: | This paper examines the contrasting perspectives of doctors and midwives in Portugal regarding their roles in childbirth, the institutional contexts in which these divergent perspectives are enacted and sustained, and the inter-related experiences of birthing women. The ethnographic research presented found obstetricians rhetoric to focus on potential risk; interventions were often explicated through a perception of childbirth as a risk-laden, and potential emergency, situation. Within this discourse, hospital-based birth was presented as a triumph of progress. Technical measures were justified using institutional rationales, such as the use of anaesthetic pain relief during labour ensuring tranquillity within maternity units, and labour induction guaranteeing throughput and freeing up hospital beds. Midwives, contrastingly, described a philosophy of care focused on offering women presence, guidance, and informed choices during birthing, professing their commitment to minimal intervention, except in cases of clinical necessity. Both professional groups expressed mutual respect for each others skills and respective roles. Yet the co-existence of different professional rationales within the same hospital setting resulted in tensions which were exacerbated by historical power dynamics and the present spatial and organisational separation of the two groups. The ramifications of the current situation for the provision of effective maternity care are discussed, and the conceptualisation of women as autonomous consumers of services is challenged. Extracts from Portuguese womens birth narratives from the same study are utilised to elucidate the highly variegated experiences of women. |
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Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experienceschildbirthdoctorsmidwivescare philosophyPortugalmedicalizationThis paper examines the contrasting perspectives of doctors and midwives in Portugal regarding their roles in childbirth, the institutional contexts in which these divergent perspectives are enacted and sustained, and the inter-related experiences of birthing women. The ethnographic research presented found obstetricians rhetoric to focus on potential risk; interventions were often explicated through a perception of childbirth as a risk-laden, and potential emergency, situation. Within this discourse, hospital-based birth was presented as a triumph of progress. Technical measures were justified using institutional rationales, such as the use of anaesthetic pain relief during labour ensuring tranquillity within maternity units, and labour induction guaranteeing throughput and freeing up hospital beds. Midwives, contrastingly, described a philosophy of care focused on offering women presence, guidance, and informed choices during birthing, professing their commitment to minimal intervention, except in cases of clinical necessity. Both professional groups expressed mutual respect for each others skills and respective roles. Yet the co-existence of different professional rationales within the same hospital setting resulted in tensions which were exacerbated by historical power dynamics and the present spatial and organisational separation of the two groups. The ramifications of the current situation for the provision of effective maternity care are discussed, and the conceptualisation of women as autonomous consumers of services is challenged. Extracts from Portuguese womens birth narratives from the same study are utilised to elucidate the highly variegated experiences of women.Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia - CRIA2018-10-01info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articletext/htmlhttp://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008Etnográfica v.22 n.3 2018reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttp://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008White,JoannaQueirós,Filipainfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess2024-02-06T17:11:47Zoai:scielo:S0873-65612018000300008Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-20T02:22:45.344602Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
title |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
spellingShingle |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences White,Joanna childbirth doctors midwives care philosophy Portugal medicalization |
title_short |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
title_full |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
title_fullStr |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
title_sort |
Reconcilable differences?: Portuguese obstetricians and midwives contrasting perspectives on childbirth, and womens birthing experiences |
author |
White,Joanna |
author_facet |
White,Joanna Queirós,Filipa |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Queirós,Filipa |
author2_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
White,Joanna Queirós,Filipa |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
childbirth doctors midwives care philosophy Portugal medicalization |
topic |
childbirth doctors midwives care philosophy Portugal medicalization |
description |
This paper examines the contrasting perspectives of doctors and midwives in Portugal regarding their roles in childbirth, the institutional contexts in which these divergent perspectives are enacted and sustained, and the inter-related experiences of birthing women. The ethnographic research presented found obstetricians rhetoric to focus on potential risk; interventions were often explicated through a perception of childbirth as a risk-laden, and potential emergency, situation. Within this discourse, hospital-based birth was presented as a triumph of progress. Technical measures were justified using institutional rationales, such as the use of anaesthetic pain relief during labour ensuring tranquillity within maternity units, and labour induction guaranteeing throughput and freeing up hospital beds. Midwives, contrastingly, described a philosophy of care focused on offering women presence, guidance, and informed choices during birthing, professing their commitment to minimal intervention, except in cases of clinical necessity. Both professional groups expressed mutual respect for each others skills and respective roles. Yet the co-existence of different professional rationales within the same hospital setting resulted in tensions which were exacerbated by historical power dynamics and the present spatial and organisational separation of the two groups. The ramifications of the current situation for the provision of effective maternity care are discussed, and the conceptualisation of women as autonomous consumers of services is challenged. Extracts from Portuguese womens birth narratives from the same study are utilised to elucidate the highly variegated experiences of women. |
publishDate |
2018 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2018-10-01 |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008 |
url |
http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0873-65612018000300008 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
text/html |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia - CRIA |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia - CRIA |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Etnográfica v.22 n.3 2018 reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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RCAAP |
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RCAAP |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
collection |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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1799137309871833088 |