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Intrapartum Care pp 42–57Cite as

Artificial rupture of the membranes

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Part of the book series: Midwifery Practice ((MIPRA))

Abstract

Since the 1970s the management of childbirth has become more medicalised with greater dependency upon technology. Comaroff (1977) described midwives and obstetricians regarding childbirth as a condition similar to illness, suitably treated in terms of medical intervention and control, with pregnant women adopting a passive role. Chalmers and Richards, also writing in 1977, identified certain procedures as beneficial but pointed out that others carry risks to the mother and child and the benefit of routine usage was therefore doubtful. They made the following suggestions:

a more rational framework for the evaluation of obstetric practice is needed: the quality of medical care depends on the extent to which interventions of proven effectiveness are properly applied to those who can benefit from them. Although there is nothing particularly novel about these views, there are grounds for believing that these principles are widely ignored (page 48).

The Association for the Improvement of Maternity Services (AIMS) continues to be concerned about the introduction of interventions prior to scientific evaluation and has recommended a government-led screening programme of all obstetric technologies.

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Authors
  1. Christine Henderson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Southwest College of Health Studies, University of Plymouth, UK

    Valerie Levy MPhil RM RGN MTD

Copyright information

© 1990 Christine Henderson

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Cite this chapter

Henderson, C. (1990). Artificial rupture of the membranes. In: Alexander, J., Levy, V., Roch, S. (eds) Intrapartum Care. Midwifery Practice. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20981-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20981-1_3

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-333-51370-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-20981-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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