Spatial Evaluation of Midwives’ Relationship to Health Centers in Socialized Health Services

Spatial Evaluation of Midwives’ Relationship to Health Centers in Socialized Health Services In historical perspective, midwifery has different breaking points in Turkey. In the Ottoman period and in the first years of the Republic, the tension between midwives and modern medicine was ended with liquidation of traditional midwifery. Afterwards, midwives’ working places were shaped as maternity houses and hospitals with constitution of modern midwifery. The new tasks was given to midwives in health centers and health houses in the duration of socialization of health services in Turkey which was started in 1961, and midwifery was redefined in a sense. The government extended into villages, neighborhoods by midwives during this period which continued uninterrupted for forty three years . In this course, the main task place of midwives who was planning to serve reproductive age women and 0-6 age children under the law of socialized health services also was shaped as a house. This study aims to evaluate the construction of primary level health services of Turkish Republic by the same token of midwives and to analyse the relationship of them with health center, village, neighborhood and house in the context of gender. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with two midwives worked in health centers in Çubuk, Ankara, which served as a laboratory for the socialized health services and it was attempted to demonstrate that how midwives carried the power of state beyond the health center through their services.