Birth as an American Rite of Passage 2e

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