Friday 13th January 2012.
The Royal College of Midwives’s Chief Executive Cathy Warwick is featured today on the BBC’website’s “Scrubbing Up” column (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/health/2009/scrubbing_up/default.stm), which provides provocative thoughts from experts in the worlds of health and medicine. In her column, she outlines her fears regarding the increasing “commercialisation and commodification of pregnancy and childbirth.”
She said: “The US tradition of having a baby shower to celebrate an impending birth is now commonplace in the UK. But ‘foetus parties” where people gather to view 3D and 4D scan pictures are also gaining in popularity.”
“Births are becoming more complex. If we look at the age of mothers as an indicator of complexity, then in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the number of births to women aged over 40 years has increased by more than 50% since the start of the century.”
“Between 2001 and 2010, the number of births to women aged 40 or over rose by 71%. This ageing of mothers means greater demands on maternity services as pregnancies to older women are more likely to involve complications, which demand more of midwives and others in the maternity team.
“I think the worrying trend towards the commercialisation of pregnancy and trend in ‘foetus parties’ can add to the burden and can increase the expectation for mothers which midwives then have to deal with. There is a worry that supposed diagnostic scans are now being used for entertainment. Across the country services for “foetus” parties are popping up. ...This is a far cry from the original purpose of ultrasound. It was originally introduced as a screening tool to help early detection of babies with serious problems, allowing future planning of the pregnancy on the back of this.
“However, the trend towards using ultrasound and technology via foetus parties as a “consumer tool” raises various ethical questions. If a woman is celebrating much more overtly than she might normally do regarding a pregnancy at an early stage during the pregnancy and, then, at a later stage a serious problem emerges; a mother may need increased counselling after raising everyone’s expectations of her pregnancy at a foetus party, only to learn of complications later on.
Professor Warwick adds: “Another issue that worries me is that there is the whole issue of the consumer society and who is able to access this new facility of having a 4D scan? Does everyone have equal access to this celebratory technology or is it only something available to the better off and the rich and famous leading to more class envy, alienation and a sense of inequity.”
She concludes: “Is this ‘yummy mummy’ or WAG parenting taken to its absolute zenith and what does it do to the child being “branded” in this way?”
-ends-
For more information contact the RCM Press Office on 020 7312 3456 or email: pressofficer@rcm.org.uk
To view the full article, please visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16223121
Please credit the BBC’s website and “Scrubbing Up” in all articles about the column.
Notes to editors
The Royal College of Midwives is the voice of midwifery. We are the UK’s only trade union and professional organisation led by midwives for midwives. The vast majority of the midwifery profession are our members. The RCM promotes midwifery, quality maternity services and professional standards. We support and represent our members individually and collectively in all four UK countries. We influence on behalf of our members and for the interests of the women and families for which they care. For more information visit the RCM website at www.rcm.org.uk.
