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- Title
Understanding the social organisation of maternity care systems: midwifery as a touchstone.
- Authors
Benoit, Cecilia; Wrede, Sirpa; Bourgeault, Ivy; Sandall, Jane; Vries, Raymond De; Teijlingen, Edwin R. van
- Abstract
Theories of professions and healthcare organisation have difficulty in explaining variation in the organisation of maternity services across developed welfare states. Four countries – the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands and Canada – serve as our case examples. While sharing several features, including political and economic systems, publicly-funded universal healthcare and favourable health outcomes, these countries nevertheless have distinct maternity care systems. We use the profession of midwifery, found in all four countries, as a ‘touchstone’ for exploring the sources of this diversity. Our analysis focuses on three key dimensions: (1) welfare state approaches to legalising midwifery and negotiating the role of the midwife in the division of labour; (2) professional boundaries in the maternity care domain; and (3) consumer mobilisation in support of midwifery and around maternity issues.
- Subjects
MATERNAL health services; WOMEN'S health services; MIDWIFERY; OBSTETRICS; WELFARE state; PUBLIC welfare; SOCIAL policy
- Publication
Sociology of Health & Illness, 2005, Vol 27, Issue 6, p722
- ISSN
0141-9889
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00471.x