During the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic, more couples in Italy considered giving birth at home with the assistance of private midwives, by questioning the social norm of a hospital birth. This article discusses the findings produced through a qualitative study that has reached 16 home birth experts and 22 women who gave birth at home between 2020 and 2022. It emerges that the midwives' dedication to their profession is embedded in their awareness of being contributors to social change (in terms of the demedicalisation of birth and women's empowerment) initiated in the 1970s by older generations of midwives and birth activists. Parents tend to make sense of their home birth as a matter of individual choice and wish that this choice could be soon or later normalized. However, midwives and parents rarely engage with policy makers and tend to be content to express their values in their professional practice and birth/parenting choices.
Durante la pandemia da Sars-Cov-2, un numero crescente di coppie si sono avvicinate alle ostetriche domiciliari e hanno considerato la possibilità di partorire a casa propria assistite da ostetriche private, mettendo in discussione la norma sociale del parto ospedaliero. Questo articolo discute i risultati di una ricerca qualitativa che ha raggiunto 16 esperte del parto domiciliare e 22 donne che hanno par- torito a casa tra il 2020 e il 2022. Emerge che la dedizione professionale delle ostetriche è supportata dalla consapevolezza di contribuire al cambiamento sociale (in termini di demedicalizzazione del parto ed emancipazione femminile) avviato negli anni Settanta da precedenti generazioni di ostetriche e attivisti. I genitori tendono a interpretare la loro esperienza di parto in casa come una scelta perso- nale e auspicano che essa perda la sua accezione "alternativa" e sia accettata socialmente. Tuttavia, è emerso che solo raramente ostetriche e genitori dialogano con i decisori politici, mentre tendono ad accontentarsi di esprimere i propri valori nella pratica professionale da una parte e nelle scelte di parto e genitoriali dall'altra.
Home Birth in Italy. The roleof freelance midwives and parents in collective action and social change
Bandelli;
2023
Abstract
During the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic, more couples in Italy considered giving birth at home with the assistance of private midwives, by questioning the social norm of a hospital birth. This article discusses the findings produced through a qualitative study that has reached 16 home birth experts and 22 women who gave birth at home between 2020 and 2022. It emerges that the midwives' dedication to their profession is embedded in their awareness of being contributors to social change (in terms of the demedicalisation of birth and women's empowerment) initiated in the 1970s by older generations of midwives and birth activists. Parents tend to make sense of their home birth as a matter of individual choice and wish that this choice could be soon or later normalized. However, midwives and parents rarely engage with policy makers and tend to be content to express their values in their professional practice and birth/parenting choices.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
