Recommended by Dr. Mom: Feminist Health Activism's Influence on the Demedicalization of Childbirth in the United States, 1950 to Present

Many activists today advocate a de-medicalized model of birth out of concern for the quality of childbirth experiences. In many ways, they have achieved a collaborative care model between physicians and midwives. Although the literature addressing the medicalization of society is prolific, scholarly work addressing de-medicalization is still somewhat formative. My work positions the history of de-medicalized childbirth as an articulation of feminist health activism. Many scholars discuss the rise of feminist health activism within the context of a late twentieth century counter-culture, such as the work of midwife Ina May Gaskins or the publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves (1971). This counterculture movement encouraged lay midwifery, breastfeeding, and informed awareness of the female body. I argue that feminist health advocacy for better birthing conditions can be traced to the late 1950s. Long before Our Bodies, Ourselves became an underground success, Thank you, Dr. Lamaze had already ignited changes in American childbirth that created space for women to take ownership of the birthing experience. Feminist health activism since the late 1950s has been successful in educating women about their birthing options, and variations of de-medicalized childbirth have consistently given women a set of tools to challenge the power structure of institutionalized medicine. In this way, Lamaze-era efforts to de-medicalize childbirth created a sub-narrative of reproductive justice within the broader social justice discourse. This paper explores the voices of women who, regardless of race and class, fought to not only participate in their own birth, but for the right to enjoy it.