CO SCI 136 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Risk Perception, Prenatal Diagnosis, Blood Test
Document Summary
In premodern society the outcome of birth was a product of chance. Today the outcome of birth is a product of unpreventable accidents". Complications, midwives are not able to perform a cesarean section. Not always covered by insurance (depends on country) No objective evidence for problems of home birth. Media attention on higher risks of home birth, but disregard for studies about potential benefits. More resources (the more resources, the better?) Before 1960: almost everything at home; sending in a patient to a hospital was considered a failure. Changing relations between gps, midwives, and gynecologists. After 1960 financial incentives: lower mother-child prices for hospital birth. In 1960s: a new generation of gynecologists at universities. Medicalization: process of treating something as a medical problem although it not necessarily is. Healthcare is no longer only about curing something, but about planning. Hospital births have a faster healing process than home births (due to medication etc)
