Since the 1920s—and especially after World War II—the regulation and medicalization of childbirth has steered mothers away from midwives to physicians in hospitals. This medicalization has saved a lot of lives. But, as Rochester Institute of Technology professor Lauren Hall shows in this video, over-medicalization has also pushed low-risk mothers into unnecessary medical interventions without their informed consent in order to keep the assembly line of the hospital moving. Hall explains the history of childbirth in the United States, and shows how the medicalization of birth can hurt mothers—leading the United States to have the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation. This video is produced by the Institute for Humane Studies to explore the role of voluntary action in a free society. Professor Lauren Hall is the author of The Medicalization of Birth and Death: https://www.amazon.com/Medicalization-Birth-Death-Lauren-Hall-dp-1421433338/dp/1421433338/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= Praise for the book: “Americans know that over the years, US healthcare has become sick: it doesn't treat patients well. Symptoms begin with the experience of mothers and babies at birth and end with the way we treat our dying. Lauren Hall brilliantly explains the problems and their causes, and prescribes treatment." — Earl L. Grinols, Baylor University, coauthor of Health Care for Us All: Getting More for Our Investment "Hall employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine the medicalization of life in America. She explores how our society remade birth and death from intimate, personal experiences. Scholars working in politics and history of medicine will learn a good deal." — Christy Ford Chapin, University of Maryland Baltimore County, author of Ensuring America's Health: The Public Creation of the Corporate Health Care System Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: null The Institute for Humane Studies is the leading institute in higher education dedicated to championing classical liberal ideas and the scholars who advance them. About Us: https://theihs.org/who-we-are/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theihs?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InstituteforHumaneStudies/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituteforhumanestudies/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theihs/