Redefining the Meaning of Childbirth: An Analysis of Home Births in Arizona During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Western civilization’s faith in technology and resources has allowed obstetricians in hospitals to dominate childbirth. This thesis discusses the biological and technocratic models of care obstetricians have been using and the negative effects they have had on women’s perceptions of their bodies and autonomy. It also explores how society has accepted these negative consequences through the use of coercion, pedagogy, the increased rate of cesarean sections, and medical authority. However, with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, many women in Arizona have decided to switch to home births in hopes of a more intimate, safe, or natural birth. This thesis concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions convincing women to switch to home births has actually illuminated the benefits of the midwifery model of care, arguing that it should be further considered as a way to secure the protection and empowerment of women in comparison to hospital births.