50 years: Changes in childbirth
Author: AMY RIDGEWAY

Childbirth timeline
Although the basic facts of life have not changed since time began, human response to “Honey, it’s time …” sure has. Here’s a timeline for what’s been happening to moms, dads and babies over the last 50 years.

1950s:
88 percent of births take place in hospitals.
La Leche League is formed.
Dr. Robert A. Bradley and Dr. Ferdinand Lamaze introduce prepared childbirth concept to the world.
Spinal, epidural anesthetics, called “saddle blocks,” are widely used.
Twilight Sleep, an anesthetic that was inhaled during contractions, is used by mothers in labor.
Shaving routinely done, enemas routinely administered.
Hospitals have separate labor/delivery/recovery rooms, which aren’t private.
Episiotomies are common.
Dad drops mom off at the hospital door and waits for news of the baby.
Mom stays in the hospital for a week or more.
73.7 women die in every 100,000 live births.

1960s:
97 percent of births take place in hospitals.
“The Pill” is introduced for birth control.
Teen pregnancy is on the rise, and continues to increase to epidemic proportions through the 1970s.
Continuous electronic fetal monitoring is introduced.
Prepared childbirth classes come into vogue.
Dads enter the delivery room with mom, thanks to Bradley and Lamaze.
Moms do better in the delivery room with Dad there.
32.1 women die in every 100,000 live births.

1970s:
Federal support of family planning and medical care for low-income women comes to be, ensuring that low-income women receive prenatal care.
HMOs are created.
Hospitals are the preferred site for childbirth for maternal and baby health.
Roe vs. Wade decision legalizes abortion.
FDA begins to discuss lingering effects of pain medication during labor on baby.
Interest increases in breastfeeding and natural childbirth.
Trendy hospitals begin to offer birthing rooms, and discuss birthing options with moms and dads.
21.5 women die in every 100,000 live births.

1980s:
Hospitals over the country begin to build birthing centers in their hospitals to “demedicalize” childbirth.
Moms start to write birth plans and talk about their preferences for childbirth.
The medical establishment starts to talk more about mom’s psychological comfort and baby’s well-being.
Family-centered birth becomes important.
9.4 women die in 100,000 live births.

1990s to the present:
Use of midwives is increasing.
Rate of cesarean section is falling slightly.
Use of forceps is declining.
Induced labor is increasing.
Fetal monitoring is increasing.
Use of epidural medication is increasing.
Birthing rooms are common in most hospitals.
Hospital stay has to be 48 hours following vaginal birth, 96 hours following c-section, thanks to the Maternal/ Child Health law.
Moms have more personal choice in alternative pain control and where birth takes place. Birthing centers not associated with a traditional hospital exist and home birth is a viable alternative in a normal pregnancy.
Doulas, women trained to support other women in labor, are being used.
Dad is in the delivery room with mom and frequently goes to prenatal visits.
The rate of teen pregnancy is falling.
7.1 women die in 100,000 live births.

In 1900, 100 infants out of every 1,000 born alive died before their first birthdays. In some cities, the rate was 30 percent. Today, 7.2 babies out of every 1,000 born alive die before their first birthdays.

— Sources: Carol Becker Clopper of Gentle Options Birth and Women Care Services, Shepherdstown; www.midwifery.com on the Web; www.cdc.gov, Web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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