Childbirth, Politics and the Culture of Risk
Special Issue of Health Sociology Review
Volume 15 Issue 4 October 2006
96 pages ISBN 978-0-9775242-5-9
Editors:
Kerreen Reiger
La Trobe University, VIC
Alphia Possamai-Inesedy
University of Western Sydney, NSW
Karen Lane
Deakin University, VIC
The field of childbirth is increasingly contentious in Australia with media reports of escalating staff shortages and conflicts over philosophy of management, service delivery and roles of professional care providers. Released as a course reader, this special issue of Health Sociology Review (volume 15/4 - October 2006) addresses the 'politics of maternity care' and the 'culture of fear' by drawing on contemporary social theory and research in order to clarify practical and policy issues.
Many governmental enquiries, subsequent recommendations and policy proposals have sought to decrease technological intervention in the physiological processes of conception, pregnancy and childbirth (eg Parliament of Australia, Senate, 1999; New South Wales Health, 2000; Victoria, 2004), but 'medicalised birth' still dominates the mainstream health system and can be argued that it is actively sought by an increasing population of women and families.
Childbirth, Politics & the Culture of Risk extends the strong social science critique of the 'medicalisation' of birth - which has been further impacted by the growth of modern consumerism. It critically examines the pervasive cultural construction of reproduction as a medical event laden with risk which is in need of technological management. Designed as a course reader for society and risk, maternity and midwifery and nursing and culture courses, this special issue juxtaposes policy and professional debates about 'risk management' with social theoretical analyses following Ulrich Beck's Risk Society (1992) constructs.
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