Myles Textbooks for Midwives 1953 and 2014, a feminist critical discourse analysis

Citation

Harkness M & Cheyne H (2019) Myles Textbooks for Midwives 1953 and 2014, a feminist critical discourse analysis. Midwifery, 76, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2019.05.003

Abstract
First paragraph: Myles Textbook for Midwives is the world’s best-selling midwifery textbook; first published in 1953, now in its sixteenth edition, and available for sale in 75 countries. Textbooks are commonly regarded as documenting unambiguous information but in reality they present a particular point of view and set of ideas. Every qualified midwife will have used a midwifery textbook, yet, despite providing rich insight to the ideologies that have informed midwifery practice over time, they have rarely been used for research. Feminism too is surprisingly under represented in midwifery research, and so this work provides a unique and important gendered analysis of Myles Textbook for Midwives across generations.

Keywords
Education; Midwifery; Feminist research; Language; Choice;

Journal
Midwifery: Volume 76

People

Professor Helen Cheyne

Personal Chair, NMAHP