Because history left unaddressed becomes the present

[maynardsong]

Mods, can we have tags for birth, reproductive justice, and/or midwifery? Also, I thought this was incredibly on-point, and does a fantastic job addressing the racism and classism behind "choosing" a "natural" birth. I actually think this can be extended to breastfeeding and living eco-friendly.This was a quote from my eighth grade history class,

Comments

[mahsox_mahsox]

The hospital cares for everyone, not as well as the individualized care offered by midwives, maybe, or the spa treatments and supports offered by doulas, but cares for everyone nonetheless. Except of course for the women who distinguish themselves from the masses by “choosing” home birth. To be different, better and above everyone else, women who can afford it “choose” homebirth, and look down on the masses-the rest of us who cannot afford midwifery care-as unenlightened and less deserving.

All through the later half of the twentieth century and up to the present day, wealthy women in Australia have used expensive private hospitals which are quite clearly a different standard of luxury to the usual public hospitals everyone else uses. And yet... we have somewhat of a return to homebirth and midwifery care here too. Obviously the change is unlikely to be motivated by making a distinction that was already being made very effectively indeed. If there is a bit of snobbery by rich white women over the choice I suspect it is aimed more at one-upping other members of their own social class.