Choice and Childbirth

It saddened me recently to read an article in a professional midwifery journal which was written by a woman who had recently given birth in a private hospital in London. In this article the woman described her journey of care in the private sector. The article is centred solely on the wondrous care that the ‘doctor’ (obstetrician) gave this woman and her partner and I quote:
“Choosing the right consultant was critical to a happy and calm pregnancy”!

Excuse me, but I was led to believe that choosing the right ‘midwife’ was critical to a happy and calm pregnancy? Midwife meaning being with woman – obstetrician – this word is derived from the Latin word obsterix meaning ‘standing before’.

Yes, that is surely what private obstetricians do with great ease and charm – stand before and hold their hands out for a very fat, lucrative pay cheque which they spend laughing their heads off at the silliness of these women who fall prey to their seductive charms of claiming to ‘always being there’ and ‘yes of course I will cancel my holiday to make sure I am there for the delivery of your baby!’

There is something slightly obscene about the private male obstetrician who seduces these vulnerable women by promising to ‘always be there’ whatever the time of day or night, always at their beck and call – almost like a marriage or a relationship. Are these women really choosing private care for the right reasons? Does this love and care that is lavished on them by a male at a vulnerable time in their lives make up for a big gap in their own relationship? Do the women think that the male obstetrician is superior to the female midwife? Does this smack of patriarchal forces still at work in a society when we are supposed to have moved on from this?

Back to the article in question - the midwives were only mentioned briefly right at the end of the article and their care was only in the post-natal period. I know that the NHS struggles to provide maternity care given it provides a ‘gold standard’ of care on peanuts but at least it is still true to the midwifery profession and against all odds tries to support it and enable its growth.

Yes, women have a right to a choice where they have their babies and how they receive their ante-natal care but the question is are the women who pay privately for it ‘being short changed’ in that the only care they receive from a midwife is at the end when they have had their babies?