Machine-Minders and Handmaidens? Hospital Midwives and Childbirth in New Zealand, 1950-1990

Abstract

The history of midwifery and childbirth is contentious; childbirth is an event that is at the very centre of societies, and as such, has been influenced by a myriad of opinions, based along professional, cultural, and generational lines. The historiography of midwifery and childbirth has been developed alongside feminist history to a significant extent, and as such, has largely been couched in feminist terms. The history of midwifery and childbirth specific to New Zealand is no less contentious, and has largely been written with a specific agenda. Developed around the home birth movement and driven by domiciliary midwives, the history of midwifery in New Zealand charts a progression of medical intervention on a natural phenomenon. In the process, hospital midwives have been labelled doctors’ handmaidens, rather than real midwives, in a narrative that centres overwhelmingly on the efforts and experiences of domiciliary and home birth midwives. Using archival and oral sources, my history investigates the experiences of hospital midwives. It focuses on the period 1950-1990, which encapsulates two important legislative changes regarding maternity and midwifery (the 1971 Nurses Act and 1990 Nurses Amendment Act) The period also saw a great deal of social change that influenced and changed the way care was delivered in hospitals. Hospital midwives were not passive while these changes happened. They embraced and adapted to criticisms from consumers and willingly incorporated new technologies and more ‘natural’ practices into the care that they provided. It is clear that hospital midwives were capable, responsible professionals with a great deal of professional agency. It is evident that hospital midwives were not machine-minders, nor were they handmaidens to obstetricians.