Abstract

Family-centered maternity care (FCMC) developed as a consumer reaction to the depersonalization of birth that had been the management standard for childbirth during the first half of the century. The philosophy and focus shifted from technologization to personalization, from birth as a biomedical event to birth as a normal developmental task. Proponents of FCMC focused on the emotional and psychosocial needs of the childbearing family but often defined the family as the traditional nuclear family. Because of this restrictive view of the family, care within FCMC defies simple definition and seems to hinge on the values, philosophy, and sex of the care givers. The issue of power is a predominant theme throughout FCMC and relates to the question of where power is vested--in the woman or in the system. Empowerment of women during childbirth is possible but may need to be conceptualized differently from the current FCMC model. Proposed here is a woman-centered childbirth model that shifts the emphasis back onto the mother as key principal in childbirth and grants her the mandate to personalize her birth to suit both her needs and the needs of her family, however defined.