School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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Protected and directed: medicalised childbirth in Victoria 1930-1960

Misson, Anne Elizabeth ( 1986)

Chapter I examines the public discourse about childbirth, both the views of the medical profession and the public, to establish the accord that existed between them and explore the question of why this might be so. Chapter II looks at the changing personnel and institutions involved in childbirth management, and the medical advances and developments that took place across the period. In the third chapter oral sources are used to explore the significance of these changes in shaping women's perceptions of the experience of childbirth. The final section of the thesis looks at the impact of the views of Grantly Dick-Read on the Safety Model, and sees the resultant changes produced in patients' experiences as breaking apart the shared interests of women and physicians with important implications for the future. (From introduction)