Excerpted from Birth as an American Rite of Passage

The Prep

This friend of mine and I had spent a lot of time talking...about IVs for example. So when the nurse said, "I'm going to put an IV in your arm," and she left the room to go get it, I said, "Laura, why are you letting her do this? You said you weren't going to have one." She looked at me with this real confused expression on her face and she said "I don't know." The nurse stuck her with an IV. She was given an enema. She was shaved and everything, and she just sat there and let it be done to her.

-Kim Lozenski

The "prep" is a multistep procedure that usually includes: (1) separation of the woman from her partner, as he is asked to go fill out papers while she is ushered into the "prep" room; (2) replacement of the woman's clothes with a hospital gown; (3) shaving the pubic hair of the woman in labor; and (4) the administration of an enema. These procedures all take place in the "prep room" or the labor room, one right after the other, but for the sake of clarity I will discuss each one separately.

© Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, Used with Permission

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Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD

Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD is a cultural anthropoligist who studies reproduction, focusing on childbirth and midwifery. To learn more about Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, the work she does and her other projects, please visit her web-site www.davis-floyd.com.

Wheelchair
The Prep
Presence of Partner/Separation of Partner
Enema
Replacement of Clothes with Hospital Gown
The Bed
Fasting
I.V.'s
Pitocin
Analgesia
Artificial Rupture of the Membranes
External Electric Fetal Monitor
Internal Electric Fetal Monitor
Cervical Checks
Epidural/Caudal Analgesia/Anesthesia
Lithotomy Position
Sterile Sheets, Disinfectant, and Hand-Strapping
Episiotomy
Mirror
Apgar Score
Prophylactic Eye Treatment
Vitamin K Injection
Bonding Period
Bassinet/Warmer
Four- to Twelve-Hour Separation