Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
stomach (L
ENA
: uhum) and down there one can see the bladder of the
foetus then (...) its bladder is almost more full then yours!
LENA:
Yes [laughter].
In explaining how the inner organs can be recognized, the midwife switches
between professional and everyday expressions. From her professional
perspective the black nuance is not only a black spot that can be recognized
as an inner organ, but also an indication of the fact that the inner organs
work as they should. The stomach would not be possible to discern as a
black unless the baby was able to swallow and digest foetal water.
Beside these interpretations of the image on the screen, the midwife
also points out the expected baby's
movements
, and from what angle the
parents see these movements. When she speaks about the expected baby's
movements the midwife not only demonstrates that the baby moves, but
she also speaks about the movements in terms of speed and energy (also
see Example 6 above). Here, the midwife's interpretation of the image on
the screen changes. She goes from interpreting the image in a professional
way, mainly focusing on confi rming that the different parts of the expected
baby seen on the screen are in accordance with the medical norms for foetal
development, to a more everyday interpretation of the image, referring to
the social and psychological characteristics of the expected baby. This can be
seen also in Example 11, where the midwife jokes about the baby's overfi lled
bladder.
In other words, the midwife shifts perspective and presents the image
on the screen from what could be called a parental perspective, to make
it possible for the parents to identify the visual patterns as their baby. In
doing this, the midwife starts out from her professional capacity to see and
ascribe meaning and content to the different elements of the image to help
the parents to see. What she fi rst sees is the anatomical structure of the
baby's body, and that is what she focuses on. At the same time she shifts
to commenting on the image from an everyday perspective. This shift is
demonstrated for instance in Examples 6 and 11, where the midwife, by
laughing, indicates that what she says should be interpreted in a particular
way; that she is joining the mother in 'seeing' the unborn baby from an
everyday perspective.
As we have seen in the examples the interpretation of the ultrasound image
is not an unproblematic task, especially as the question of deviance is always
there as a potential threat. The ultrasound image of the baby is shown and
interpreted by the midwife mainly with a focus on making it comprehensible
to the parents. This 'showing of the baby' both in a professional as well as
an everyday perspective, might also be understood as a way of visualizing a
normal
baby. This is accomplished by the pointing out of body parts, from
top to toe, identifying all the vital inner organs and their proper functioning
and structure, and that the baby's anatomy is fi ne. By 'translating' the image
in this way, the midwife implicitly confi rms to the parents, without verbally
