The Student Midwife Summer Issue, Volume One | Page 7

both nations are considered highly developed
and wealthy. So what does Sweden have that
the US does not?
I would argue, the answer is midwives!
Foreign countries, especially those found in
the European Union, like Sweden, use trained
midwives first and have an OB/GYN as a
backup or for women with high risk
pregnancies (Swedish Institute, 2013). In the
US there is a deep division between midwives
and doctors, providing only two extreme
sides of the birth spectrum, medicalized birth
and midwifery. I believe that the integration
of midwifery and the medicalized birth
practices could provide the missing piece to
providing holistic, healthy and more efficient
care for diverse populations of women.
Authority, convenience (to hospitals and
doctors), and profit are key motivators and
influences during medicalized birth. There is a
lack of respect towards mothers and the
natural process of birth, In the US
medicalized system, the mother is never told
that she could be the authority of her birth
experience. Prenatal care often lacks
education and encouragement for pregnant
women. The mother is often unaware and
uninformed about the procedure and options
available to her. Medicalized birthplaces trust

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in the authoritative doctor to make decisions
for her. Interestingly enough, pregnancy and
birth are not happening to a woman. She
brings about all these things herself. This lack
of confidence in women is articulated through
the practices of power and control before and
during labor. Lack of education and the
pathology of pregnancy are stripping mothers
of their right as active participants over their
own bodies. Taking back the control of the
birthing process can be as easy as educating
mothers on their bodies and the stages of
labor and the options that come with it. This
will empower a woman to take control and
confidence in her body. She will fear the
process less and in turn have a more satisfying
and empowering experience. For systemic
change here needs to e a cultural shift in
hospitals doctors’ offices and homes in order
to reevaluate the values and principles behind
what it may mean to incorporate midwives
and doulas into childbirth options. The US
can look to other countries for best practices
in order to evaluate the existing system, and
so to successfully assist mothers in their
personal childbirth experiences in a safe and
positive way.
Dominant US birth culture can be seen in
theory and in practice as a power struggle