Abstract

LINARES ABAD, Manuel; ALVAREZ NIETO, Carmen  and  MORAL GUTIERREZ, Inés. Medical discuss about midwives on the half of century XX. Index Enferm [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.4, pp.251-255. ISSN 1699-5988.

Objective. To contribute to the most recent history of midwife profession, analysing documents written by medics. Methods. Qualitative analysis of content and discuss, historic, using secondary bibliography fonts written most than medium century ago. The analysed bibliography is eight articles written by medics and published in Matronas review (this were the official review of the Midwives Official School of Health House of Santa Cristina in Madrid-Spain). Results. The common denominator of analysed articles is instruct to midwives about the physical and morals competences and abilities that they must have; that is based in the importance that has the practice in midwife profession, however it appears subjacent a doctrinal discuss in order to the submission of midwives collective. Conclusions. In the studied period the midwives were submitted to the hierarchy and control of gender, in favour of medical prestige. Midwives professionals’ reviews were utilised as a doctrinal vehicle, between others instruments. Midwifes lost the control and spaces of power in their profession, related with previous times when they had a great autonomy. The politic regimen, the catholic moral and the andocentric view during the half of XX century, implied negatives elements in concernments of a professionalized collective, however, a female collective.

Keywords : Gender; Midwives; Health professions; History of Nursing; Sex-gender system.