Medicalization Of Pregnancy Sociology Essay

From the initial pronouncement by the GP that a woman is pregnant to the regular scans and antenatal process pregnant women are expected to participate in, pregnancy has been redefined as a potential risky process requiring medical surveillance. Explain this statement using sociological concepts including medicalization and consider the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to pregnancy.

The medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth has changed from something that was previously the most natural process into an extremely risky process, so why is this and what does the term medicalization actually mean when applied to the pregnancy process? This following assignment will discuss the definition of medicalization, medical social
In the beginning of the 1900’s, almost ninety nine per cent of births took place in the home however by the 1950’s, only approximately thirty per cent now took place in the home. (NCT: 2008) So why is this? National Childbirth Trust, a charity founded in 1956, was initially set up to promote and understand the system of natural childbirth. The charity would argue that home births are perfectly safe for healthy women situated in the ‘low risk’ category and that there is no evidence to suggest otherwise (NCT; 2012) The charity’s policy has eleven factors, the first being that ‘all parents should be able to choose a place to give birth that they feel is right for them and their baby’. They also believe that parents need up to date evidence to enable them to make a suitable decision for their place of birth. (NCT: 2008) In 1970 the Peel Report was published. The report gave a negative perception on home births giving the impression that home births were less advanced than hospital births but there was no evidence to back this up. The report was challenged due to lack of evidence and twenty two years later, was proven to be incorrect. (NCT: 2008) It was the Government’s Policy to increase women’s choices of places of birth and that from 2009, home births would be guaranteed (NCT: 2008) However, we know that this is not necessarily the case and that home births can very much depend on circumstances and resources i.e., location, midwife availability and medical attention required to name a few . (NCT: 2008) It is evident by looking at documentation produced by interest groups such as The National Childbirth Trust that pregnant women may not have as much choice in the place of their child’s birth as is lead to believe by the Government and that more information needs to be distributed effectively to enable this to