ABSTRACT

Is the experience of childbirth becoming 'globalised'?
Is the encroachment of the western medical model dehumanising a profoundly human experience?
If so, what can midwives and midwife educators do about it?

These are the questions at the heart of Childbirth in the Global Village which highlights the role that globalisation plays in changing childbirth practices and its implications for midwifery practice and education.
Built around the vivid personal stories of women and midwives experiencing childbirth in four very different cultures

Childbirth in the Global Village will resonate with the experience of midwives everywhere and makes a strong case for redesigning the midwifery curriculum to reflect the interconnectedness of childbirth, midwifery education and practice around the globe.

chapter 1|11 pages

Women's stories, women's lives

chapter 2|15 pages

The global village

chapter 3|9 pages

The nature of modernity

Society, development and risk

chapter 4|23 pages

Experiences of childbirth in Africa

chapter 5|15 pages

Experiences of childbirth in Malaysia

chapter 6|26 pages

Experiences of childbirth in America

chapter 7|25 pages

Experiences of childbirth in England

chapter 8|23 pages

Symbolic exchanges in childbirth

Reflections from the case studies

chapter 10|20 pages

The midwifery curriculum

A selection from culture?

chapter 11|15 pages

There and back again

The ripples on the pond