Beliefs about childbirth in the US: indoctrination, potential effects, and maternal and infant mortality

Overview Pregnancy is not a benign physiologic state for a woman, most pregnancies are uncomplicated in the United States, although the “United States has a higher ratio of maternal deaths than at least 40 other countries, even though it spends more money per capita for maternity care than any other. (Ina May Gaskin, 2008)” For…