ABSTRACT
Maternity care is situated within primary care in Sweden and there has also been growth in private providers of antenatal care and, more recently, two private hospitals have developed labour and delivery wards. Maternity care in Sweden reflects the country's overall guidelines that health care should be publicly financed and provided to all residents on the basis of medical need. Rights and risks in health care are embedded in tensions between patient choice, cost control, professional practices and changing social norms about birth. Studies on postnatal care also show that some men feel excluded, describing the experience as being 'still behind the glass wall'. A country's welfare state reflects its core values and Sweden is no exception. Sweden's welfare state is based on the values of solidarity, equality and redistributive social justice supported by a large public sector and high social spending.
