Research on women’s pregnancy and childbirth experiences suggests that the use of medical technology alienates many women by minimizing the importance of their roles and their level of control over their bodies and birth experiences (Davis-Floyd, 1992, 1994; Sandelowski, 1994). Little research focuses on the experience of expectant fathers, either during pregnancy and labor, in general, or with medical professionals and technology, in particular. We address this gap in this study by examining the influence of medical technology on the pregnancy and childbirth experiences of both expectant mothers and their husbands.

This focus is important for two reasons. First, despite the cultural impetus favoring greater participation of fathers in childbirth, many men perceive a lack of emotional involvement–defined as a perceived closeness to or emotional investment in the pregnancy (May, 1982). Little is known, however, about the factors that influence this state. Identifying these factors is important because some evidence indicates that greater levels of perceived involvement among expectant fathers result in stronger attachment with the infant and lower levels of stress and conflict across the transition to parenthood (Ferketich & Mercer, 1989; May, 1982; Peterson, Leiderman, & Herbert, 1979).

Second, comparing expectant mothers’ and fathers’ experiences with medical technology can inform theories about the social control functions of medicalization. Medicalization is defined as “a process by which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as medical problems” (Conrad, 1992, p. 209). Theories that frame medicalization as a form of social control often suggest that women experience this form of social control more frequently and to a greater extent than men (Conrad, 1992; Riessman, 1983). Most studies of childbirth experiences in medical settings, however, include only women. This obscures the possibility that the medical environment may influence the behavior and experiences of expectant fathers as well as expectant mothers.

The potential for medical technology to influence the perceived involvement of expectant fathers has grown as their presence at their partner’s medical office visits and in the delivery room has become more common. The few studies that examine this influence, however, focus only on experiences during pregnancy. Our approach allows us to expand on previous work by examining the impact of medical technology on expectant fathers’ involvement, not only during their partner’s pregnancy, but also during labor and delivery.

Although men’s health, per se, is not medicalized during childbirth, the medical profession may still have an opportunity to exert control over expectant fathers by discouraging their active participation. Alternately, the medical context and the use of medical technology may encourage and facilitate greater father involvement. If the latter is true, it may have consequences for the ability of the expectant mother to exert control over the birth process. For example, as fathers–aided by the use of medical technology–participate more in childbirth, they may encroach upon their female partner’s ability to exert control over labor and delivery. Comparing the experiences of expectant mothers and their husbands allows us to determine whether differences exist in the impact of medical technology on expectant mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of involvement in and control over pregnancy and childbirth.

Expectant Mothers, Medicine, and Control

Since the mid-1980s, much attention has been given to the role of the medical profession in women’s lives. This body of theoretical and empirical work provides evidence of the power of the medical profession, enhanced by its use of technology, to construct, define, and, ultimately, to control women’s reproductive health (Rothman, 1991). The medicalization of childbirth has been particularly important in this regard. Many people argue that the definition of pregnancy and childbirth as illnesses transforms women’s natural bodily processes into deviant behavior in need of correction and gives the medical profession the power to construct women’s views about the meaning of pregnancy and birth and to control, on a more immediate level, their involvement in these processes (Davis-Floyd, 1992; Martin, 1992; Rothman, 1991).

Cultural and historical analyses describe the process through which childbirth came to be medicalized (Starr, 1982; Sullivan & Weitz, 1988). Prior to the 19th century, childbirth was treated largely as a natural process requiring little or no medical intervention (Sullivan & Weitz, 1988). In the mid- to late-1800s, however, a number of social and cultural factors converged to open the door for medical involvement in the birth process. Primary among these was the struggle of medical practitioners to gain cultural authority and economic power in the United States and to increase demand for their services (Starr, 1982). A central component of this effort was the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth and the elimination of the competition of midwives.