Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
out, and asks what is meant by that fi gure, 'twenty-three what's that?', and
once again asks, 'what did you say?'
What happens here is that the midwife asks Rikard to wait and excuses
herself by telling him once more that she has got a measurement that she
is not satisfi ed with. The midwife then tries to avoid the question of the
potentially deviant result of her measurement in various ways. Just as in
the initial phase of the examination, the midwife does not share her clinical
interpretation of the image with the parents. When the midwife presents the
date of delivery that she has arrived at, she emphasizes the correspondence
with her measurements, and she points out that this new date corresponds
very well with earlier calculations: 'then it differs two days there you had got
the twenty-fi fth there so it corresponds very well then'. The midwife goes on
to argue that it corresponds very well: 'perfect to the time yes yes it does'.
Immediately afterwards she continues to explain to the parents which parts
of the baby's body can be seen on the screen, which can also be understood
as a way of leaving the topic of potentially deviant results. In these ways, she
downplays the threat against the expected baby's normality, and neutralizes
the deviant measurement. In this case, normality is not an issue that the
midwife discusses with the parents when it is questioned and dubious.
Discussion and concluding comments
So, how is the expected baby's normality communicated and negotiated as
part of the examination of the ultrasound image? As the analysis of these
ultrasound examinations indicates, normality is an issue that the parties deal
with throughout the examination. One could say that through the different
ways the ultrasound image is interpreted, a confi rmation of normality is
achieved. During the fi rst phase of the examination, the pregnancy and the
expected baby's existence is still to be confi rmed. This is refl ected also in
the way the midwife leaves the ultrasound image un-commented until the
baby is localized and she has confi rmed that the baby exists
.
While this is
going on, the midwife does not discuss her professional tasks, or her clinical
interpretation of the ultrasound image, in any explicit way. At the same time,
the parents-to-be watch the screen attentively and try to understand what
they see from their perspective. The comments that the parents make can be
understood as refl ections on the fact that the baby is actually there and can
be seen. This confi rmation of the fact that the baby exists can be seen as a
fi rst step in a confi rmation of a normal pregnancy.
Another way of managing the issue of normality occurs in the following
phase of the examination, where the midwife begins to explain what she is
measuring to the parents. Here, she starts to talk about, and explain to the
parents what she is measuring, and also what part of the baby they see on
the screen. The measurements are continuously commented on as related
to the norms for a normal pregnancy and the development of a healthy and
normal baby. Also, the estimated date of delivery, which is the outcome of
