BUILDING THE NATION THROUGH WOMEN'S HEALTH: MODERN ...

examinations, supine position, and pubic shaving. All of these routine procedures are considered
unnecessary or excessive according to current medical theory. At the same time, fewer than 27
percent of women received pain relief in the form of acupuncture, epidural analgesia, abdominal
massage, and/or intravenous diazepam and pethidine, though more than half of the women
reported that their pain was “intolerable.” 615 Caesarean rates in China are very high in urban
areas, with approximately 60 percent of women in Shanghai and Beijing requesting the
procedure for various reasons: fear of a painful vaginal birth without analgesia or anesthesia, or
to keep their hips slim, or to choose an auspicious birth date. Hospitals are eager to perform
caesarean sections because of higher profits. 616
It is important to remember that childbirth practices are greatly affected by culture and
environment. After all, it was not so long ago that American women were routinely completely
anesthetized for delivery, often regardless of a woman’s personal wishes to be awake and lucid at
the birth. This is one area in need of further exploration. A study of the midwives who have
been displaced in recent decades would give greater insight into the processes and procedures of
childbirth and maternal and child health in China.
The challenge to provide health care to all of China’s women and children has not been
completed. What began in fits and starts by a few medical missionaries grew into a national
program with an overarching vision. The hierarchy of medical training begun in the 1920s and
1930s with places like the First National Midwifery School and Dingxian was the model for the
CCP public health program. This model was originally designed to reach as many people as
possible as quickly as possible by training a few highly qualified individuals who would give
615 Qian et al., "Evidence-Based Obstetrics."
616 “Beijing Reports Higher Caesarean Birth Rate,” Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 1, 2006, "Easier Delivery,"
Shanghai Star, 11-11-2004.
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