The Midwife challenge - Sheila Kitzinger

"Pandora Issues in Women's Health" is a series of investigative books written by women about all aspects of our bodies and health. Each book takes into account women's lives in different countries and cultures and challenges conventional assumptions about health issues which affect us all.;This collection of articles from midwives worldwide explores the current international upheavals in maternity care. The book argues that midwives, traditionally seen as meddlesome and superstitious, through their concern for the quality of emotional care given to pregnant women, and poses a challenge to "conveyer belt" obstetrics. Many want women to have a one-to-one relationship with a midwife who can give continuous care, through pregnancy, birth and after their baby is born.;Internationally they face stiff opposition from the medical profession and in many countries midwives have been relegated to the status of obstetric nurses rather than treated as professionals in their own right.;There are contributions from midwives in Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Guatemala, the Netherlands and the USA. The position of midwives in different medical systems, in both industrialized and developing countries, is compared, as well as discussing the problems they face and their hopes for the future.;This book is intended not only for midwives and health workers, but for any woman who has had a baby or intends to have one. Sheila Kitzinger, MBE, is a social anthropologist, author of several books on childbirth and female sexuality including "Pregnancy and Childbirth" and "Freedom and Choice in Childbirth" and is on the Executive Committee of the Midwives Information and Resource Service.