Midwives and Medicalisation of health
MEDICALIZATION OF HEALTH
The hierarchical health system structure is outdated and patriarchal, devaluing the specialisation of health classifications like midwifery
COPY, PASTE, SHARE!
- Medicalisation of health is the source of rigid hierarchies; prescription-based, fleeting care; clinical hospital and medical office settings; and the glorification of doctors at the expense of recognising the value of specialised health professionals
- Midwives the most versatile health professional, able to deliver high-quality care in both medical (such as hospitals) and community (home) contexts
- Midwives must satisfy all educational and regulatory criteria of the ICM core competencies in order to practice midwifery
- Midwives are not an ‘alternative’ medical practitioner
- Midwives require autonomy to deliver care in all settings where maternal and newborn healthcare is needed
- Midwives fulfil emotional and mental labour with women and their families that is not recognised nor valued in medicalized health systems
- Midwives are able to bring medical practices (such as sanitation, hygiene and handwashing) to communities lacking in health infrastructure, but are also able to undertake community-based primary health care within and outside of medical settings