Medicalization of Pregnancy

Topic statistics and historty

• Medicalization of pregnancy gained legitimacy by downgrading, dismissing and supplanting traditional models of reproductive care

• authorative knowledge is persuasive because it seems natural, reasonable, and consequently constructed to be in the best interest of all parties

• the medicalization of pregnancy has its roots in the rise of modern medicine which channels science as a means to tame nature and transform life cycle events such as birth, menstruation, menopause, aging, and death into disease states that require medical management

• Pregnancy is seen as a pathological or physical defective that needs medical intervention

• 44 percent of births took place out of a hospital in 1940 but only 1% in 1969

Topic Effects of drugs thought the history

. The drugs they use however are not what is best for both mother and baby. Some of the drugs that they were using in the 40’s and 50’s was supposed to ease the pain of birthing but instead it just made mothers lose there memory of the pain which eventually led to post traumatic stress. scopolamine

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Another drug that was being used to help with the symptoms of morning sickness cause birth defects thalidomide

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• X-ray that were being used to measure the baby’s progress turned out to cause cancer in unborn babies which led to a lot of infant morality.

Another drug that was being used to speed up contractions for faster birthing caused the uterus to rupture. Cytotec

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• Hospitals make mothers in labor lay on there backs which is not helpful because it makes the pelvic smaller, then they have to use a vacuum extractor to deliver the baby. The laying down position only benefits the doctor but not baby or the mom.

Topic why it happens

• Reproductive justice perspective recognizes that the institutional and often

agency, and barriers to quality care differentially influence pregnancy and reproductive outcome for woman and their families around the world

• Current medical conception frame pregnancy as a stressor to the body

Topic c- section

• One in three mothers give birth by cesarean section

• C-section is a major surgery that increases the likelihood of many short term and long term affects for mothers and baby

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