MODERN MATERNITY CARE - DOES SAFETY HAVE TO TAKE THE MEANING OUT OF BIRTH

In this paper the author questions whether a medical model is sufficie nt for our understanding of the complexity of childbirth, and for the provision of high quality maternity care, The importance of a psycholo gical perspective is stressed by describing the adaptive processes dur ing pregnancy and birth, and by analysing the impact of certain medica l procedures on women's experiences, such as ultrasound screening duri ng pregnancy and obstetric analgesia in labour, The paper is modified from the 'Meredith Memorial Lecture 1995' given at La Trobe University , Melbourne, and a Keynote address at the 24th Triennial Congress of t he International Confederation of Midwives in Oslo, May 1996.