Journal article
"I Delivered With a Team Where I Recognized No One": Understanding Depersonalization of Healthcare Through Women's Birth Stories
The Journal of medical humanities
05/29/2025
DOI: 10.1007/s10912-025-09957-2
PMID: 40437162
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to obstetric care, leading to decreased interactions, heightened medical interventions, and restricted support for birthing individuals, which in turn increased the risk of maternal and infant health concerns. This study investigated how birth stories from individuals who gave birth during the pandemic reflected their relational orientation toward healthcare providers, using Martin Buber's I-It and I-Thou framework and Davis-Floyd's technocratic model of birth as analytical lenses. Based on a phronetic iterative approach, data were gathered at three time points from surveys, focus groups, and interviews with 50 participants. Results revealed that birth narratives often reflected an I-It orientation, with healthcare providers described impersonally as a collective "they." Experiences were characterized by strict protocols, information control, and isolation, forming the mechanized birth. In contrast, stories involving meaningful interpersonal connections with healthcare providers illustrated the preservation of a "normal" birth experience and revealed the dialogical nature of birth and I-Thou orientation, in which relational, humanized care emerged despite pandemic restrictions. Findings emphasize the need for relationship-centered care that prioritizes patient individuality, humanity, and rights, even in times of crisis. Healthcare providers and policymakers should consider balancing technological efficiency with holistic, humanistic medicine, and consider how post-pandemic obstetric care can incorporate philosophical and ethical principles that prioritize relational aspects of birth for improved maternal and infant outcomes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- "I Delivered With a Team Where I Recognized No One": Understanding Depersonalization of Healthcare Through Women's Birth Stories
- Creators
- Susanna Foxworthy Scott - Butler UniversityNicole L Johnson - Iowa City VA Health Care SystemJennifer J Bute - Indiana University – Purdue University IndianapolisMaria Brann - Indiana University – Purdue University IndianapolisDarla Imhausen-Slaughter - Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of medical humanities
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10912-025-09957-2
- PMID
- 40437162
- NLM abbreviation
- J Med Humanit
- ISSN
- 1573-3645
- eISSN
- 1573-3645
- Publisher
- SPRINGER
- Grant note
- COVID-Rapid Response Grant / Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/29/2025
- Academic Unit
- Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984825532802771
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