OBJECTIVE: in this paper we offer new insights about the medicalisation of childbirth by
closely examining the trends in obstetric intervention rates in Flanders and the Netherlands
and by considering the influence of contextual factors–including the organisation of the
medical system, professional guidelines, and cultural ideas–on the way maternity care is
delivered. DESIGN: a comparative study using perinatal statistics from the National Perinatal
Databases of the Netherlands and Flanders and historical and qualitative data about the …