UNASSISTED CHILDBIRTH IN NORTH AMERICA by Rixa Ann Spencer Freeze An Abstract Of a PDF
Preview UNASSISTED CHILDBIRTH IN NORTH AMERICA by Rixa Ann Spencer Freeze An Abstract Of a
BORN FREE: UNASSISTED CHILDBIRTH IN NORTH AMERICA by Rixa Ann Spencer Freeze An Abstract Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in American Studies in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa December 2008 Thesis Supervisors: Associate Professor Susan C. Lawrence Professor John Raeburn 1 ABSTRACT Unassisted childbirth—giving birth at home without a midwife or physician present—emerged as a movement in mid-20th century North America. While only a small number of women choose to give birth unassisted, its significance extends far beyond its numbers. Unassisted birth illuminates trends in maternity care practices that drive, and sometimes force, women to choose unassisted birth. It also is part of a larger set of connected values and lifestyle choices, including home schooling, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, ecological awareness, cloth diapering, sustainable living, and alternative medicine. Finally, the emergence of UC as a conscious birth choice requires a re-examination of how we understand, frame, and interpret childbirth paradigms. There is very little written about unassisted birth in the academic world, although media reports on the practice have become increasingly prevalent since 2007. This dissertation begins the conversation for a scholarly inquiry into unassisted birth. My research is based primarily on interviews, essay-response surveys, and archives of internet discussion groups. After setting unassisted birth in historical context, I explain why women make this choice; the knowledge sources they privilege; how they understand the concepts of safety, risk, and responsibility, and their complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with midwifery. I also examine midwifery, and to a smaller degree, obstetrical, perspectives on unassisted birth, focusing on how birth attendants who are sympathetic to UC reconcile that with their training and experience attending births. Unassisted birth has changed the core questions we need to ask about birth. Instead of home or hospital?, natural or epidural?, or midwife or obstetrician?, questions asked by existing models of childbirth, unassisted birth poses a different set of core questions: Is birth disturbed 2 or undisturbed? Is it social or intimate? managed or intuitive? attended or unattended? Abstract Approved: _______________________________________ Thesis Supervisor _______________________________________ Title and Department _______________________________________ Date _______________________________________ Thesis Supervisor _______________________________________ Title and Department _______________________________________ Date BORN FREE: UNASSISTED CHILDBIRTH IN NORTH AMERICA by Rixa Ann Spencer Freeze A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in American Studies in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa December 2008 Thesis Supervisors: Associate Professor Susan C. Lawrence Professor John Raeburn Copyright by RIXA ANN SPENCER FREEZE 2008 All Rights Reserved Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL __________________ PH.D. THESIS ____________ This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of Rixa Ann Spencer Freeze has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in American Studies at the December 2008 graduation. Thesis Committee: _______________________________________ Susan C. Lawrence, Thesis Supervisor _______________________________________ John Raeburn, Thesis Supervisor _______________________________________ Tom Simmons _______________________________________ Erica Prussing _______________________________________ Ellen Lewin To Zari Rose ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks my dissertation advisor Susan C. Lawrence for her thorough comments, her insightful critiques, and her enthusiasm for my project. I am particularly indebted to the women who told their stories to me. I recognize that it is not easy to share such intimate life experiences to a virtual stranger. I appreciate my husband’s support and patience while I was busy writing and revising. And finally, three cheers for my daughter’s naptime—it’s how I was able to get this dissertation done. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Terminology 4 How Common Is Unassisted Birth? 7 My Background 12 Sources and Methods 17 Chapter Overviews 24 CHAPTER 2: THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF UNASSISTED BIRTH 33 Natural Childbirth 36 Midwifery in the U.S. and Canada 39 Important Figures in Unassisted Birth 42 It’s Mental: Painless, Fearless Birth 44 Home Birth Advocates: UC as a Springboard to Home Birth Midwifery 52 Intimate Birthing 56 Freebirth: Every Mother Her Own Midwife 62 Failings of Midwifery 65 Other Authors 67 Organizing, Advocating, and Educating 69 Is UC a Movement? 73 CHAPTER 3: DISCOVERIES, JOURNEYS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS 92 The Discovery 95 Role of Previous Birth Experiences in Choosing UC 98 Birthrape: UC as the Final Safe Haven 104 Cornered Into UC 114 The Transformation 118 Prenatal Care 122 Women Who Leave UC 131 UC and the State 139 Core Values and Beliefs 144 The Internet as a Tool for Education, Awareness, and Support 149 CHAPTER 4: INTUITION AS AUTHORITATIVE KNOWLEDGE IN UNASSISTED BIRTH 155 iv Authoritative Knowledge 157 Intuition in Childbirth 163 Intuition and Unassisted Birth 168 Varieties of Intuition 170 Embodied Knowledge 179 The Limits of Intuition 188 Conclusion 194 CHAPTER 5: SAFETY, RISK, & RESPONSIBILITY 196 Medicine as Progress 200 Midwifery as (Safe) Tradition 205 Using the “Language of the Aggressor” 211 Safety in Unassisted Birth 214 Selfish Mothers 235 Reframing Risk and Responsibility 238 Birthing Free of Monopoly and Compliance 256 CHAPTER 6: RECONCILING MIDWIFERY AND UNASSISTED BIRTH 261 Mythological Midwifery 263 Midwifery Perspectives on Unassisted Birth 274 Birth Attendant Profiles 280 Doing Less 292 Reconciling Midwifery with Unassisted Birth 299 Assisting UC Families 305 Conclusion 311 CHAPTER 7: BEYOND THE MEDICAL/MIDWIFERY MODELS OF BIRTH 317 APPENDIX A. UNASSISTED BIRTH SURVEY 333 APPENDIX B. SURVEY ABOUT UC FOR BIRTH ATTENDANTS 335 APPENDIX C. BIRTHRAPE SURVEY 337 BIBLIOGRAPHY 339 v
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