Medicalization and highway births

So I rarely blog about anything related to my "work" since most of what I do is write anyway, and it is nice to take a break and write about something fun that I did or saw. But seeing this article in the news today, about a woman giving birth in the car on the way to the hospital, gives me an opportunity to relate what I study (broadly) to what goes on in the world.

It is pretty amazing for any woman to give birth to a child in a moving vehicle on a highway. I can't imagine how stressful that would be, for both mom and driver dad!  The couple had clearly been planning for the birth, but not so quickly nor in such an awkward place. And like most births, this one was not complicated and the baby was totally fine.

But here's where the sociology comes in - the assumption, and even requirement, that a "physician" must "attend" a birth:

"It happened so fast, they couldn't even pull over. Dad was still the driver.

But mom suddenly became 'doctor'.

"I just kind of reacted because I knew I couldn't let anything happen to him," Shawna said.

Shawna says it was maternal instinct that brought a healthy seven-pound, one-ounce baby boy into their world.  She's listed as attending physician on Jackson James Clark's birth certificate.  Next to his footprints, it says "delivered by mommy".

 The history of having an "attending physician" is actually pretty interesting, and is a recent phenomenon.  It wasn't until the 18th century that physicians began to take over the childbirth (or "catching") task from the ancient role of midwife (we're talking pre-biblical ancient), under the new assumption that women (midwives have been and still are primarily women) were too weak to handle this difficult job of assisting childbirth, and such work was cast as being more fit for men trained in allopathic (Western) medicine.  In some places, like Iowa, it is actually illegal to practice midwifery today.

Medicalization is the process whereby an otherwise normal bodily function or human condition becomes redefined as something that can (or should) be diagnosed and treated, often only by a medical professional with specialized training. A good example of how a "medicalized" condition can change from being under the jurisdiction of medicine to being a normal social or biological function is that of homosexuality, which used to be officially diagnosable and considered treatable by a physician. In childbirth, planned c-sections are often thought of as medicalizing childbirth.

So while I understand on the one hand the involvement of modern medicine in childbirth as something that has the potential to prevent harm or death to infants or mothers, on the other hand as a modern woman I find it appalling that there is not more choice about one of the most fundamental things about being a woman.  Even more irking is the amazement that a woman even has the capacity to give birth without a "professional" present.  As though she "became" a doctor, rather than a mother, by giving birth.

Also interesting to note is that an uncomplicated delivery in a hospital costs on average $10,000, while on the extreme, a complicated C-section costs an average of $22,000 in the US (not including anesthesia charges).  So at least for this couple, a bundle of cash was saved (though the insurance company is really the one who "wins" - but that's another story).

Well, there you have a bit of insight into what a PhD program in sociology does to one's mind when reading the news.

The Walk-In Clinic is Fantastic!

I haven't blogged anything for a while, with good reason - we've both been sick with a nasty cold that just won't go away. We tried about 5 different over-the-counter medicines and hoped we wouldn't be listed as criminals for buying so much pseudoephedrine. After 3 weeks of being sick without improvement, we finally went to see a doctor on Thursday.

But, it's not all that easy to see a doctor when you're new in town. Since I've moved so much, I'm very familiar with the protocol - first you check with your insurance company (if you're even insured yet) to find a doctor who accepts your insurance and then make an appointment with them. Easy enough. Well, not so easy. Many doctors aren't taking new patients, and those who are have special appointments for new patients, scheduled 2 weeks to several months in advance. Bummer. So what to do when you're sick and need some sort of non-emergency medical care?

Urgent care is an option, but our insurance doesn't cover it until we've met our high deductible. But, it does cover office visits with just a co-pay. So, I searched around and found a local walk-in clinic, called them and found out that they bill walk-in visits as normal office visits! Score!

The clinic was brand new and super clean. And we saw a doctor right away with no appointment. So now we've got some antibiotics and finally get to sleep through the night due to some prescription cough suppressant. And the doctor assured us we don't have swine flu or pneumonia. Whew! If only it was always so easy to deal with medical treatment!