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As two academics researching in the area of maternal health, we are increasingly concerned with what we see as a positivist turn in midwifery research. In this paper, we examine this idea of the quantification of midwifery research, using as an example the current esteem given to the systematic literature review, and its creep into other methodologies. We argue that the current favor toward quantitative research and expertise in midwifery academia risks the future of midwifery research by the lack of equal development of qualitative experts, diluting qualitative research rigor within the profession, and limiting the kinds of questions asked. We identify the similarity between the current prominence of quantitative research and medical dominance in midwifery and maintain that it is of vital importance to the profession (research and practice) that the proper attention, contemplation, and merit are given to qualitative research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay addresses the changing face of the university. It is based on my presidential address at the 2016 meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the book "Surrogate Motherhood and the Politics of Reproduction," by Susan Markens. The author mentions her experiences as a political activist against surrogate motherhood, which Markens mentions in the book, and on the patriarchal understanding of family relationships that the idea of surrogacy draws upon. She talks about Markens' analysis of the media arguments and suggests that her conclusion that advocates and opponents of surrogacy are in ideological agreement is wrong.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to the article "Risk and the Pregnant Body," by Annie Lyerly and colleagues in the November-December 2009 issue.

Discusses the costs of embryo diagnosis. The costs of IVF; The social costs; Consequences; The author's concerns about developing embryo diagnosis; The focus of genetic determinism; More.

This paper will describe birth as a social as well as a physiological event, a process which is socially constructed and socially defined. The ways in which the medical establishment controls the birth experience, creating it as a medical event, will be presented. The role of childbirth education is presented here as supporting the medical model and preparing the pregnant woman and her mate for their roles in the institutional birth. We will briefly consider an alternative, non medical approach to birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Book reviewed in this article: Abortion and the Private Practice of Medicine. By Jonathan B. Imber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]