This groundbreaking book takes us around the world in search of birth models that work in order to improve the standard of care for mothers and families everywhere. The contributors describe examples of maternity services from both developing countries and wealthy industrialized societies that apply the latest scientific evidence to support and facilitate normal physiological birth; deal appropriately with complications; and generate excellent birth outcomes—including psychological satisfaction for the mother. The book concludes with a description of the ideology that underlies all these working models—known internationally as the midwifery model of care.

"This book is a major contribution to the global struggle for control of women's bodies and their giving birth and should be read by all obstetricians, midwives, obstetric nurses, pregnant women and anyone else with interest in maternity care. It documents the worldwide success of programs for pregnancy and birth which honor the women and put them in control of their own reproductive lives."—Marsden Wagner, MD, author of Born In The USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First

This stunning sequel to Brigitte Jordan’s landmark Birth in Four Cultures brings together the work of fifteen reproductive anthropologists to address core cultural values and knowledge systems as revealed in contemporary birth practices in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Tanzania, and the United States. Six ethnographic chapters form the heart of the book, three of which are set up as dyads that compare two countries; each demonstrates the power of anthropology’s cross-cultural comparative method. An additional chapter with ethnographic vignettes gives readers a feel for what fieldwork is really like on the ground. The eminently readable, theoretically rich chapters are enhanced by absorbing stories, photos, quotes, thought questions, and film suggestions that nudge the reader toward eureka flashes of understanding and render the book suitable for undergraduate and graduate audiences alike.

An international collaboration of lecturers, practitioners and researchers. Each chapter considers a topic relevant to normalising maternity care. Topics include: routine interventions - epidurals - physiological third and fourth stages - longer labours and approaches to monitoring / intervention - most effective models of care - birth centres - home birth - mental health - doulas - reasons for intervention - links between research and practice - harmonising models of birth - caseload midwifery - including 'normality' on medical training courses - the symbolic value of birth - developments in China, the UAE, Brazil and other countries where dramatic changes are taking place (e.g. in sub-Saharan Africa) - the 'natural' caesarean - individual agents for change - intrapartum best practice - ways of supporting women labouring without pharmacological pain relief - water birth - VBAC - the role of regulatory bodies - ways of publicising your work - communication for best results - review of progress and pointers for future research. Questions and extracts provide stimulating reflection and seminar material. For midwives, obstetricians, GPs, doulas and other maternity caregivers. "I strongly recommend this book to midwives, obstetricians, doctors and hospital administrators. It carefully reviews the scientific data." Marsden Wagner-who was director of Women's and Children's Health at the World Health Organization for 15 years, before his retirement. Questions and extracts provide stimulating reflection and seminar material. For midwives, obstetricians, GPs, doulas and other maternity caregivers. "I strongly recommend this book to midwives, obstetricians, doctors and hospital administrators. It carefully reviews the scientific data." Marsden Wagner-who was director of Women's and Children's Health at the World Health Organization for 15 years, before his retirement

This benchmark collection of cross-cultural essays on reproduction and childbirth extends and enriches the work of Brigitte Jordan, who helped generate and define the field of the anthropology of birth. The authors' focus on authoritative knowledge—the knowledge that counts, on the basis of which decisions are made and actions taken—highlights the vast differences between birthing systems that give authority of knowing to women and their communities and those that invest it in experts and machines. Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge offers first-hand ethnographic research conducted by anthropologists in sixteen different societies and cultures and includes the interdisciplinary perspectives of a social psychologist, a sociologist, an epidemiologist, a staff member of the World Health Organization, and a community midwife. Exciting directions for further research as well as pressing needs for policy guidance emerge from these illuminating explorations of authoritative knowledge about birth. This book is certain to follow Jordan's Birth in Four Cultures as the definitive volume in a rapidly expanding field.

The delivery of high quality and equitable care for both mothers and newborns is complex and requires efforts across many sectors. The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world, yet outcomes are worse than other high-resource countries, and even worse for Black and Native American women. There are a variety of factors that influence childbirth, including social determinants such as income, educational levels, access to care, financing, transportation, structural racism and geographic variability in birth settings. It is important to reevaluate the United States' approach to maternal and newborn care through the lens of these factors across multiple disciplines. Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice reviews and evaluates maternal and newborn care in the United States, the epidemiology of social and clinical risks in pregnancy and childbirth, birth settings research, and access to and choice of birth settings.

Why do so many American women allow themselves to become enmeshed in the standardized routines of technocratic childbirth--routines that can be insensitive, unnecessary, and even unhealthy? Anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd first addressed these questions in the 1992 edition. Her new preface to this 2003 edition of a book that has been read, applauded, and loved by women all over the world, makes it clear that the issues surrounding childbirth remain as controversial as ever.