Description of the Modern Birth Process

In the ethnography, Birth as an American Rite of Passage, Robbie E. Davis-Floyd describes the modern birth process as one that is ritualistic and shaped by a technological society. Davis-Floyd argues that childbirth is a natural process that does not need to be controlled and manipulated by technology. In this work, Davis-Floyd interviewed one hundred middle class white women, who had access to, what she terms the technocratic model. The interviews were completed with women who either chose the technocratic model or a more "natural" childbirth process. The interviews were comprised of questions about the pregnancy period, the birth process, the mother's feelings about her experiences, and what each mother would change for the next birth. After reading this work, one is left with the impression that a middle ground needs to be reached between the advances of modern technology and the view that childbirth is a natural process in which the mother's wishes need to be respected.…