The Politics of Childbirth: Divergence of Maternal Health Practices among Advanced Industrialized Countries.

Childbirth is one of the most widely shared experiences of roughly half the world‟s population. Yet even among the most highly developed countries, the quality of that experience varies tremendously, with high-intervention practices becoming increasingly the rule in the US, while countries such as the Netherlands have relatively low numbers of cesareans, but high numbers of homebirths with excellent results. A discourse of medical rationality would have us expect that wealthy countries provide the best care available for whatever health needs present themselves, including the needs of women giving birth. Yet countries clearly differ in what they consider the "best" care. Why do otherwise similar countries diverge in their approaches to childbirth and maternal health? This paper documents the extent of variation in obstetric practices and maternal and child health outcomes among OECD and EU countries and then presents research design and preliminary findings for a new multi-country investigation into policy divergence in maternal health policies. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]