Obstetrics is the branch of medicine concerning pregnancy, labour, and the period immediately following childbirth. It also involves the psychological and social aspects of childbearing.
Obstetrics has not always been so broadly defined. Until recently, it involved only the mechanics of childbirth, and early practitioners did not have medical training. As early as 1303, the term midwife was used for women who assisted in home deliveries, and eventually the term midwifery evolved in reference to their practice. In modern Britain the terms midwifery and obstetrics are used interchangeably, though in the USA they are not. Since the 1980s obstetrics in Britain has started to consider the psychological aspects of childbirth, previous to then no consideration was given to the emotional trauma that may befall a mother and baby during childbirth, and the emphasis was primarily on hygiene and convenience. By the late 1990s British obstetrics had started to consider the mother's emotional state and feelings, allowing mothers in labour to walk around, and to adopt whatever position they find comfortable for giving birth - rather than previously being laid on their back with their feet in stirrups, a position which is painful,
degrading and does not assist the childbirth. Research Obstetrics
Abbreviations
Research Obstetrician
