http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41426691
The story above from the BBC website is a wonderful talking point. Have a look at it and let me know what you think.
This article piqued my interest, because one of my best friend's wife is a midwife and they have a midwife (midhusband?) in their Department. She told me a number of years ago that many expectant mothers didn't wish for a male to be involved in the birth and maybe that attitude has been a factor in so few males wishing to follow that career path? I don't know. I guess this is arguably still a sensitive issue and perhaps comes down to a matter of choice in the end? I am looking forward to hearing what other members of the class think on this topic. It is a great discussion point and I think I will add this into the moral dilemmas scenarios next year. Learning and teaching should always be dynamic and proactive after all!
No judgements made on this blog!
The story above from the BBC website is a wonderful talking point. Have a look at it and let me know what you think.
This article piqued my interest, because one of my best friend's wife is a midwife and they have a midwife (midhusband?) in their Department. She told me a number of years ago that many expectant mothers didn't wish for a male to be involved in the birth and maybe that attitude has been a factor in so few males wishing to follow that career path? I don't know. I guess this is arguably still a sensitive issue and perhaps comes down to a matter of choice in the end? I am looking forward to hearing what other members of the class think on this topic. It is a great discussion point and I think I will add this into the moral dilemmas scenarios next year. Learning and teaching should always be dynamic and proactive after all!
No judgements made on this blog!
Mark
Hey guys !!! I liked how the article described this man as “swimming against the tide “. It’s actually a shame . It just shows you how determined this man was at achieving his goal despite the prejudice involved! In this day and age it’s a shame there are so many stereotypes when it comes to occupations which are mostly dominated by females. I have had male gyanocologists and have never objected to them doing there job because of their sex. I have also given birth twice and had two very equally as unpleasant female midwives one of which I kicked in the face (it had no connection to how unreasonable she was it was genuinely an accident upon a painful contraction...) if I was to become a GP then I’m sure I’d need to perform the odd rectal exam or prostate exam , or if I wanted to become a penile surgeon (If they even exist, I possibly watch too much Grey’s Anatomy) then I’m sure I’d need to get up close with some intimate areas also! But I’ve never heard of such complaints. We always hear about inequality in the workplace and females being treated unequal to there male colleagues, it has definitely opened my eyes to the inequality that males still experience !
ReplyDeleteHaving read this I was a bit surprised that there had been legislation introduced in the 1950's prohibiting men working as midwives. I have always, naively it seems, assumed this type of legislation only held back females...my bad.
ReplyDeleteI find it a complete contradiction to be honest given men were allowed to be obstetricians and gynaecologist's, I'm not sure where that 'logic' came from.
What is encouraging about this article is the midwife says out of hundreds only 7 have refused his presence so it's not widespread that women object to a male midwife. The real issue is how to get more men involved in the profession. It's probably very much cultural. Women talk about childbirth; their experiences of it, the horror stories, their fears etc. Childbirth is very much part of the female culture. That's something that's not necessarily open to men as they can't physically experience childbirth so perhaps they don't even consider it as its just not something they give a lot of thought to and it's not something I imagine the guys on the local rugby team are having a chat about!
On a personal note I recall while giving birth to my son the obstetrician asked me if it would be OK if a trainee obstetrician came in to observe, before I answered she threw in...'oh and he's a man'. My rely was no I didn't want him to come in the room and in hindsight I realise that would have looked like my refusal was because it was a male. It wasn't though, there were already 13 people in the room (there were complications) and I didn't want want more (male or female) at the 'party'. I do wish she hadn't felt the need to announce his gender, it was irrelevant to me (believe me, at that point you're so stoned you don't give two hoots!).
With that in mind I do think the medical profession need to consider how they approach the issue. I'd be aghast if they announced 'it's a woman' and they should take the same approach to a male midwife or doctor. A qualified person is a qualified person and if the professionals don't make it an issue of gender then hopefully that will filter down to patients.