Ideology in the Reemergence of North American Midwifery

Abstract

This article explains the reemergence of North American midwifery in terms of the role of ideology. An ideology is a set of beliefs by which a social group makes sense of its environment and which those groups manipulate in order to project images of themselves. I analyze the ways that two particular ideologies-science and feminism-have been used by midwives and their supporters in their struggles to legitimate midwifery in the health care systems of Canada and the United States. The rhetoric of science has been used in establishing the safety of home birth and natural childbirth, and feminist principles and rhetoric often underlie claims about midwifery made by midwives and their advocates. Although both nurse midwives and independent midwives have used these ideologies to legitimate their occupational boundary claims, they have been more important to independent midwives' struggles for occupational legitimacy.