Birthing Change: an Ethnographic Study of the Alaska Family Health & Birth Center in Fairbanks, Alaska
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Birthing change: an ethnographic study of the Alaska Family Health & Birth Center in Fairbanks, Alaska Item Type Thesis Authors Bennett, Danielle M. Redmond Download date 10/10/2021 21:40:31 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8277 BIRTHING CHANGE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE ALASKA FAMILY HEALTH & BIRTH CENTER IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA By Danielle M. Bennett Redmond RECOMMENDED: Advisory Committee Chair APPROVED: ( t Dean of the Graduate Softool Date BIRTHING CHANGE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE ALASKA FAMILY HEALTH & BIRTH CENTER IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS by Danielle M. Bennett Redmond, B.A. Fairbanks, Alaska May 2013 iii Abstract This study examines the practices of the Alaska Family Health & Birth Center in order to understand how midwives help clients navigate the process of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period with a high rate of success, as defined by a low cesarean rate, low mortality and morbidity, and high maternal satisfaction. How do the midwives prepare mothers to navigate the transformation and how do they address failure to progress during birth? This study analyzes birth as a rite of passage, which incorporates a culture’s worldview and its practices. These outcomes are achieved by employing a positive, holistic view of the natural, physiological process, by using practices that support the physiological process and minimize intervention, and by keeping the space in which out-of hospital birth takes place. The fact that parents are choosing an alternative ritual for birth at an increasing rate nationwide reflects a change happening in American culture. iv Table of Contents Page Signature Page .................................................................................................................i Title Page ......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract........................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................iv List of Acronyms............................................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................1 1.1 The Alaska Family Health & Birth Center (AFH&BC) ............................. 1 1.2 Controversy in American Maternity Care ..................................................2 1.3 Pregnancy and Birth at AFH&BC as a Rite of Passage: Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Analysis ....................................................... 8 1.4 Rites of Passage ........................................................................................ 10 1.5 Methods and Methodology ....................................................................... 18 1.6 Execution of Research ..............................................................................22 1.7 Chapter Summaries...................................................................................22 Chapter 2: The Alaska Context ..................................................................................24 2.1 Geography, Environment, and Culture ................................................... 24 2.2 Costs and Insurance ..................................................................................25 2.3 Alaska Native Birthing Traditions ............................................................ 26 Chapter 3: The Alaska Family Health & Birth Center Setting .................................31 3.1 The Midwifery Model of Care ................................................................... 31 3.2 Different Types of Birth Attendants..........................................................32 3.3 The Legal Context ......................................................................................33 3.4 Participant Demographics ........................................................................ 36 3.5 Study Participants and What Brought Them to AFH&BC ....................37 3.6 AFH&BC Statistics, Legal Status, and Funding .................................... 43 3.7 Out-of-Hospital and AFH&BC Demographics ........................................43 v Chapter 4: Prenatal Care ...........................................................................................46 4.1 A Prenatal Care Appointment with Sienna ........................................... 46 4.2 The Childbirth Preparation Class with Deb ...........................................49 4.3 Additional Notes on Prenatal Care .........................................................58 4.4 Conclusions about Preparation for Birth ............................................... 59 Chapter 5: Birth Stories ..............................................................................................61 5.1 Participant Birth Stories ...........................................................................61 5.2 Postpartum Care ...................................................................................... 70 5.3 Conclusions about Intrapartum Care .....................................................71 Chapter 6: The Physiological Process .....................................................................72 6.1 Emotions and Hormones .........................................................................72 6.2 “Going Deep Within” ................................................................................ 74 6.3 Authoritative Knowledge: The Knowledge ............................................ 75 6.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................79 Chapter 7: Failure to Progress ..................................................................................80 7.1 Preventing Failure to Progress ...............................................................80 7.2 Defining Progress.....................................................................................83 7.3 Authoritative Knowledge: The Authority ................................................ 85 7.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................87 Chapter 8: AFH&BC and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital ........................................ 89 8.1 Jane’s Birth Story ..................................................................................... 89 8.2 The Relationship Between AFH&BC and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital............................................................................................................ 91 8.3 Crisis as Normal ....................................................................................... 93 Chapter 9: The Role of the Midwife ..........................................................................96 9.1 Guardians of Birth ................................................................................... 96 9.1.1 Holding the Physical Space by Maintaining Infrastructure 96 9.1.2 Holding the External Space During Birth ................................97 9.1.3 Holding the Political Space ...................................................... 97 vi 9.2 Empowerment.......................................................................................... 98 Chapter 10: Conclusion............................................................................................. 100 10.1 Summary of Findings ............................................................................ 100 10.2 Epilogue..................................................................................................102 References..................................................................................................................103 Participant Interviews ................................................................................................ 113 vii List of Acronyms ACOG American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists ACNM American College of Nurse-Midwives AFH&BC Alaska Family Health & Birth Center ANMC Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CNM Certified Nurse-midwife CPM Certified Professional Midwife DEM Direct-entry Midwife DKC Denali KidCare FDA Food and Drug Administration FMH Fairbanks Memorial Hospital GBS Group B Streptococcus IRB Institutional Review Board LLL La Leche League MAA Midwives Association of Alaska MANA Midwives Alliance of North America NARM North American Registry of Midwives NCHS U.S. National Center for Health Statistics NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit NIH U.S. National Institute of Health NRA National Rifle Association OOH Out-of-hospital PPD Postpartum Depression UC Unassisted Childbirth VBAC Vaginal Birth After Cesarean WHO World Health Organization 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The Alaska Family Health & Birth Center (AFH&BC) For thirty years, the Alaska Family Health & Birth Center (AFH&BC) has provided pregnancy testing, prenatal care, and out-of-hospital (OOH) birth services to families in Fairbanks, Alaska. The midwives at AFH&BC use “the midwifery model of care,” which is a holistic approach that views pregnancy and birth as normal parts of the life cycle. In 2011, while the national rate of cesarean birth was 32.8 percent (Hamilton, Martin, and Ventura 2012,