Furniss, ElizabethBreibish, Keely Irene2005-08-162005-08-162004Breibish, K. I. (2004). Making choices about childbirth: a study of twenty women's birth preparations and experiences in Calgary, Alberta (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/208070612932931http://hdl.handle.net/1880/42194Bibliography: p. 187-197This thesis presents and explores the paths followed by twenty women in Calgary, Alberta as they approached and ultimately passed through the experience of childbirth, all but one of them for the first time. Twelve of the women in the study chose a 'standard' or 'conventional' path that led to birth in the hospital with a physician; eight women chose paths leading to 'alternative births' in different places or with different care providers. By analysing information collected through interviews, participation in prenatal classes and in the literature of childbirth, this study provides insight into the birth-related choices available to parents in Calgary. The focus of my research is to understand how pregnancy and birth were shaped for these women by looking at the choices they made preceding and during childbirth, and exploring how those choices were influenced by the cultural, social, historical, political and economic contexts in which they occurred.viii, 208 leaves ; 30 cm.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.master thesis10.11575/PRISM/20807AC1 .T484 2004 B74