ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the nature of social policy making in contemporary government and its impact on midwifery practice. It discusses maternity care within the maternity policy context, with the opportunity to reflect more abstractly upon what social policy is and how it shapes the way people deliver maternity care services. The maternity health policy agenda over the last 25 years echoes a wider and unprecedented shift towards centering the patient in both healthcare provision and health policy. The chapter evaluates the impact of the contemporary policy emphasis on informed choice and risk management. Health policy emerged as a distinct area of public policy-making activity as the government involvement in healthcare provision intensified in the middle of the last century. Clinical governance health policy, where the standardisation of decision making is valued over and above professional discretion, has significantly changed the way birth can be managed.
