Birth As an American Rite of Passage

Hospital birth, as opposed to homebirth, is a particularly American rite of passage and reflects our cultural belief in the superiority of science over nature, machines over bodies, men over women, institutions over individuals.

Robbie Davis-Floyd is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University.

Tables

x

Preface to the Second Edition

xi

Acknowledgments

xli

Introduction: Birth as a Rite of Passage

1

(21)

Research Methods and Theoretical Concerns

2

(5)

Ritual and Rite

7

(15)

1. One Year: The Stages of the Pregnancy/Childbirth Rite of Passage

22

(22)

Separation: "Oh my God, I Think I'm Pregnant!"

22

(1)

Transition: Pregnancy as Transformation

23

(15)

Transition: Birth as Transformation

38

(2)

Transition: The Immediate Postpartum Period

40

(1)

Integration: "Swimming Up on the Other Side"

41

(3)

2. The Technocratic Model: Past and Present

44

(29)

Medicine as a Microcosm of American Society

45

(3)

The Body as Machine

48

(3)

The Technocratic Model of Birth

51

(8)

The Role of American Obstetrics in the Resolution of Cultural Anomaly

59

(14)

3. Birth Messages

73

(81)

"Standard Procedures for Normal Birth"

73

(2)

A Symbolic Analysis of Standard Obstetrical Procedures

75

(75)

From Nature to Culture: The Obstetrical Re-Structuring of Accidental Out-of-Hospital Births

150

(2)

Summary: Birth Rituals and Society

152

(2)

4. Belief Systems About Birth: The Technocratic, Wholistic, and Natural Models

154

(33)

The Significance of Belief

154

(1)

The Wholistic Model of Birth

155

(3)

The Technocratic and Wholistic Models of Birth Compared

158

(1)

"Natural" Models of Birth

159

(18)

The Ideology of Safety

177

(7)

The Alternative Birth Center: A Middle Ground?

184

(3)

5. How the Messages Are Received: The Spectrum of Response

187

(54)

Full Acceptance of the Technocratic Model of Birth

189

(10)

Full Acceptance of the Wholistic Model of Birth

199

(7)

Women-In-Between

206

(35)

6. Scars into Stars: The Reinterpretation of the Childbirth Experience

241

(11)

Compartmentalization

242

(1)

"Further Epistemic Exploration": "Teilhard de Chardin" versus "Sartre"

243

(9)

7. Obstetric Training as a Rite of Passage

252

(29)

Methods

252

(2)

Processes of Psychological Transformation: Medical School and Residency

254

(15)

Alternative Transformations: The Humanistic Paradigm

269

(7)

Women in Obstetrics

276

(1)

Obstetrics and American Society

277

(4)

8. The Computerized Birth? Some Ritual and Political Implications for the Future

281

(11)

The Cultural Consensus

281

(3)

Women's Rites: The Politics of Birth

284

(2)

The Technocratic Model of Birth: Futuristic Extremes

286

(6)

9. -Or Birth as the Biodance?

292

(13)

Birth as a Means for Accomplishing a Paradigm Shift

292

(2)

Wholism in Birth: Futuristic Extremes

294

(7)

The Computerized Birth, and the Biodance: Envisioning the Richness of Diversity

301

(4)

Conclusion

305

(4)

Appendix A Interview Questions Asked of Mothers

309

(4)

Appendix B Interview Questions Asked of Obstetricians

313

(4)

Notes

317

(14)

References

331

(38)

Index

369

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Birth As an American Rite of Passage

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials