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Is Childbirth With Midwives Natural? The Gaze of the Feminine and the Pull of the Masculine

Saint Louis University

Joining the ongoing dialogue regarding the need for reflexivity in qualitative research,this tale of the author's "natural" childbirth and subsequent research into the field ofmidwifery explores the tension between postmodern and modern aspects of her Self. Theformer accepts a lived experience of fragmented, separate selves and partial truth,whereas the latter wants an integrated, whole Self and absolute truth. Using introspection,this tension is understood in terms of two different forms of cultural patterning, thefemale gaze and the masculine pull. Moreover, the author believes that the term naturalserves as a self-contained opposite that allows mothers and researchers to bridge thesetwo cultural patterns.

Key Words: midwives • natural childbirth • qualitative research • reflexivity

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