Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
are expecting their fi rst baby, and this is their fi rst ultrasound examination
together (Lena had a scan in the ninth gestational week, when Lennart was
not present). Here, we have all just entered the examination room and the
midwife has shown the parents where to take a seat, Lena on the bunk and
Lennart on a chair which is placed next to the bunk. From these seats, they
face the screen for the parents to look at. The midwife takes her seat behind
her own screen, which cannot be seen by the parents. The midwife then
starts the ultrasound examination.
Example 1
MIDWIFE:
There now, now this will feel a little cold and sticky and you'll see
- do you think that it [the screen] is correctly angled towards you? can
you see it when you sit like that or?
LENA:
Ooh yes
MIDWIFE:
Yes because you will have to look at that one yourselves, but I
have the same picture on this slightly smaller screen in front of me then
(L
ENA
: hum) now what I'll do fi rst I'll look through and check and see
what I see and then I'll explain to you, you probably understand quite
well but, I will explain to you when I have fi nished looking (…) I'll be
rather quiet to begin with.
(the midwife scans for eight seconds)
LENA:
Do you understand [to Lennart] can you see what it is? [laughter] ooh
[quietly] [the midwife scans for 23 seconds]
LENA:
One can see the heart anyway [quietly].
What we see here is that the midwife sets the terms for the encounter,
by deciding who will sit where and what shall be done, terms that are
related to her professional tasks. She starts the examination proper and then
conducts a fi rst preliminary check of the unborn baby. In this fi rst phase of
the examination, it is the midwife who has the initiative. She structures the
interaction by placing the man on a chair, and the woman on the bunk in
front of their screen, and herself behind 'her' screen. But the midwife also
structures the interaction by telling the parents what she will do during the
examination. She does this by using a verbal phrase that is also used in the
other examinations as well: 'now, what I will do is that I will fi rst have a look
and check and see what I see, and then I will explain to you'.
The midwife here governs the interaction in several ways. She divides
her own and the parents looking at separate screens through pointing out
to the parents, verbally as well as with gestures, that they should direct their
attention towards their own screen and that she will look at her screen. She
also tells the parents that she will initially be busy carrying out her fi rst check-
ups and therefore stay silent, and that she will not start to tell the parents
about her interpretation of the image on the screen until later. Also, she
governs the interaction by being silent. In addition, a consequence of how
