Main description:

Midwives and other healthcare providers are grappling with the issue of rising intervention rates in childbirth and trying to identify ways to reverse the trend. It is increasingly accepted that intervention in childbirth has long-term consequences for women and their children. Birth Territory provides practical, evidence-based ideas for restructuring the birth territory to facilitate normal birth.

Links new research findings to birth environments and outcomes.
Describes the elements of an ideal birthing environment.
Suggests how to modify existing maternity services to achieve optimal results.
Investigates the links between the experiences of women and babies, and outcomes.
Explores the effects of legal and socio-political factors.

Contents:

Introduction

Section 1: Theories and Practices

1 Power and the Social Construction of Birth Territory

2 Theorising Birth Territory

3 Midwifery Guardianship: Reclaiming the Sacred in Birth

4 Territories of the Self and Spiritual Practices During Childbirth

Section 2: Physiology and the Physical Space

5 Creating Birth Space to Enable Undisturbed Birth

6 The Spiritual and Emotional Territory of the Unborn and Newborn Baby

7 Creating Physical Space

Part 1 The moving, feeling and dreaming body guides architectural design

Part 2 Putting the principles into practice

Section 3: Midwives, Obstetricians and the Maternity Services

8 Being a midwife to midwifery: transforming midwifery services

9 Birth Territory: The role of the obstetrician

10 From Ideal to Real: The interface between Birth Territory and the Maternity Service Organisation

Glossary
Index