Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

Midwifery is the oldest known version of obstetrics and has been around for thousands of years. In many parts of the world, midwifery is the number one form of childbirth care but in the United States licensed midwives attend less than 1% of births. Midwives provide natural, unmedicated birth for pregnant people and have positive effects on the childbirth process. The US has one of the highest infant mortality rates of any developed country and an increasing maternal mortality rate. These rates are due to the intervention of modernized obstetrics in hospitals and midwives strive to provide safe, alternate out-of-hospital birth options for pregnant people. The World Health Organization predicts that if midwives were integrated into hospitals, the maternal and infant mortality rates would decrease by 50%. This study examines the working conditions of midwives in the 21st century and the experience of working in a stigmatized profession. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with Florida licensed midwives and one certified nurse midwife. This study found that midwives navigate their stigmatized profession and stay in this profession because they feel called to provide positive contributions of empowerment in birth and beyond. The study also illustrates how the lifestyle challenges, community support, conflictive relation with the medical field, and the motivation to go into and stay in this profession also contributes to the quality of worklife for the midwives.

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