Can Health Authorities Stop the Medicalisation of Childbirth? The Case of Spain in the Early 20th Century

Abstract

The medicalisation of childbirth is a worldwide trend, that has its roots in past centuries. Despite being a widely studied phenomenon, the attempts taken to prevent its spread have rarely been addressed. This research presents the measures taken by the health authorities against the medicalisation of childbirth in Spain, in the early twentieth century. The episode was linked to a famous obstetrician, Miguel Orellano, who published several papers advocating a new method of conducting a delivery. This method involved a great deal of unnecessary intervention that turned delivery into a major surgical procedure. We will see if the health authorities have achieved their goal.

Keywords

• Medicalisation
• Induced delivery
• Ergot
• Forceps
• Chloroform
• General Directorate of Health