c. medicalization.
The shift from home births to hospital births is an example of medicalization. Medicalization refers to the process by which certain aspects of human life, previously considered natural or outside the realm of medical intervention, become defined and treated as medical issues.
In the early 1900s, giving birth at home was the norm, and it was primarily managed by midwives or family members. However, over time, advancements in medical knowledge, technology, and the professionalization of healthcare led to the perception that childbirth should be handled by medical professionals in a hospital setting. This shift was influenced by the belief that hospital births offered safer and more controlled environments for both mothers and infants.
As a result, the medical profession gained dominance over the management of childbirth, and the majority of births moved from home settings to hospitals. Today, hospital births are the standard practice in the United States, with around 99 percent of births taking place in hospitals.
This transformation from home births to hospital births reflects the process of medicalization, where a natural life event like childbirth became institutionalized and medicalized.