October 11, 2002

The language of birth in Dundee

The first day in the Dundee workshop was surprising in some ways. The issue of language was a theme I raised, as usual, and it was quite an eye-opener for the group. Some new terms came up in general discussion that I haven’t come across before.

Here, midwives talk about women feeling “sore” during labour e.g. - “when she’s starting to feel sore, we get something for her” and “we tell women they will feel sore during labour”. I have yet to find out just what level of pain “sore” refers to, but perhaps that will come today.

One midwife described the labour ward as a “lock down area” which was pretty shocking. She was referring to the fact that most labour wards in the UK have stringent security, the result of a baby being snatched from a labour ward some time ago. Therefore, a code is now required to gain access to the labour ward, with visitors often restricted, women unable to wander about freely and limited numbers of companions being the norm. To refer to this as a “lock down” area, accurate as it may be, conjures up gaol conditions. I pointed out that women are already tagged (wrist bands), given hospital clothing to wear and pretty soon may be photographed at this rate! The days of women being “confined” are still very much with us.

Several of the midwives referred to homebirths as ”confinements”. It will be struggle for these midwives to change the way they talk about women and to them. I am more and more convinced that language is a key to the whole relationship between midwives and women. If women are to regain any confidence in their own ability to give birth, and midwives their trust in women’s abilities, beliefs and attitudes are key elements that must be addressed. The “self talk” we use, the discussions with colleagues and direct communications between women nd midwives all revolve around actual terms and vocabulary. If attention is paid to those, and make an effort to chose women-centred and midwife friendly terminology then we can change basic attitudes.

I left the group with much to think about on this score, and one senior midwife said that she had really taken this issue on board and realised she needed to think carefully about her own use of language. It is a start - we will see what the reactions are this morning when I give the group a chance to reflect on yesterday’s program.

Posted by andrea at October 11, 2002 04:30 AM

Comments

You may find it interesting to visit the sites about poker card, casino no deposit, online casino casions, gambling cash, blackjack sites, roulette casions, gamble tip, internet casino web, slot machine odds, online casino bonus deposit, online gamble game, casino gambling strategies, casino game strategies, las vegas table, video poker casinos, roulette online card, slot rule, blackjack online deposit, blackjack betting 3d, poker 888, gambling 8888, blackjack tip, poker on net, casino casions, casino gaming, gambling no deposit. .

Posted by: blackjack on January 19, 2004 08:17 AM

Comments

You may find it interesting to check the pages in the field of phentermine effect, zyban tablet, viagra cream, propecia for woman, online pharmacy prescriptions, tramadol mens, ultram 400mg, wellbutrin resistance, paxil overnight, meridia comparing, zyrtec online, xenical cheap, vioxx 12 5mg, vaniqa dosage, retin a canada pharmacy, prozac on line, generic viagra 10 pills, celexa woman, buy phentermine addiction, xenical capsules, ambien substitute, dilenyoung about, hopforyou pills, kip980 perscription medication, mng765 what is, pol_uri facts, piter_gordon mail order, miss20092000 2 month supply, robert_zed2003 fasten, fp292003 men, diagodream supplements, jacglen2003 can i, lisa_plamer products, gill_bern review, gtrgtr45 100mg, poklop2000 men`s, nolzer12 men`s, rtopopi mail order pharmacy, oklokol for woman, racertroy2003 information on, viagra information about, phentermine alternative. .

Posted by: fp292003 on January 21, 2004 02:08 PM