Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Different perspectives on the expected baby
The visualization of the expected baby during the routine ultrasound scan is
likely to be perceived in different ways by the parents-to-be and the health
care professionals respectively. It is the task of the professional, in this case
the midwife, to interpret the medical meanings of the ultrasound image.
Also, it is the professional who has the knowledge and skill to do this. The
parents-to-be have to rely on the midwife's knowledge and skill to interpret
the clinical meaning of the ultrasound image. At the same time they are
anxious to have a confi rmation that everything is fi ne with the baby (Green
1994).
In theoretical terms it is possible to say that the encounter between the
midwife and the parents is an encounter between two different
perspectives
,
the midwife's professional perspective and the parents' everyday perspective.
Here, perspective refers to having a certain attitude or a certain approach to
the situation or 'what is going on', and is thus related to the concept 'voice',
as defi ned by Mishler (1984). The professional perspective is characterized by
a distinctive goal-orientation, related to the fact that the midwife has certain
tasks to perform. It is not primarily curiosity or fascination in the presence
of the unborn baby that is important to her, but the critical examination of
what she can see on the screen. The midwife will have to compare what she
sees on the screen with clinical standards, in order to discover any deviance.
Thus, the midwife's attitude to the interaction with the parents is oriented
towards the clinical task and the critical investigation of the image of the
expected baby on the ultrasound screen.
The everyday perspective is distinguished by a different attitude. Here,
the expected baby is typically placed within a biographical context. The baby
is fi rst of all a part of the parents individual and joint life-projects, as a couple
and as parents-to-be, not a question as to whether it corresponds with certain
clinical standards or not. Here, the parent perspective refers to how the
expected baby is placed within a biographical context. This means that what
is seen on the monitor from a parent perspective fi rst of all is interpreted in
a non-critical way. As a consequence, any worry that the expected baby is
not 'normal' will be understood primarily in an everyday and not a medical
sense. The parents' interaction with each other and the midwife is in this
sense likely to be characterized by a non-directedness, that is the parents'
attitude to the interaction is not directed by any pre-set medical task. The
parents will fi rst of all see an image of the future baby, and not an image of
a foetus to be assessed according to medical norms.
The ultrasound examination can in this sense be described as an encounter
between two different perspectives, the midwife's professional perspective
and the parents' everyday perspective. The purpose of this chapter is to
explore how the issue of the expected baby's normality is communicated
and negotiated between these different perspectives during the routine ultra-
sound examination.
