With increased developments in the field of medicine, most aspects of life are under the microscope of medicine. Medicalization is the process by which behaviors and conditions are labeled and treated as medical issues. The aspect of medicalization brings light to a specific behavior or condition, reigns it into the arms of medicine to “cure” the issue. While medicalization does bring light to a condition, it in no way guarantees a cure, but rather a mode of treatment for the condition.
The medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth are examples of how normal aspects of life are brought under the microscope of medicine and are treated as a pathological issue. This can be seen in the growth of the OB/GYN sector in the field of medicine, as midwives were steadily replaced with physicians as the primary resource for the process of birth. While this can certainly be seen in a positive light, the experience of women in the birthing process is changed with the introduction of the medicalization of pregnancy. In the beginning stages of pregnancy, leading up to childbirth, physicians diagnosed women’s bodies to examine appropriate signs of pregnancy. This can be construed as diagnosing the body for an illness. Furthermore, with the introduction of the OB/GYN sector in medicine, there has been an increased number of cesarean sections performed for childbirth. Whereas, when midwives were involved in pregnancy, natural delivery was the most commonly seen method of childbirth. Medicalization has extended its hands to menopause as well. Menopause, a natural aspect of aging and pregnancy, happens when a woman is no longer fertile and can no longer bear children, due to age. During menopause, which occurs in women in their 40s-50s, the menstrual cycle becomes less predictable and women may experience symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. However, in terms of medicalization, the normal physical changes in menopause can be diagnosed via specialists as pathological issues and treated with over-the-counter medications. While bringing many facets of life under the eye of medicine can be beneficial, the debate surrounding medicalization encompasses the issue of whether medicalization brings more harm than good to our communities.
While medicalization can be painted as a negative aspect in medicine, multiple positive cases can be linked to the medicalization of diseases. In the case of addiction, before medicalization, addiction was seen as a deviant behavior within society, often linked to criminality and moral weakness, which lead to laws severely punishing victims of substance abuse. After the medicalization of addiction, it was seen that addiction is a disease with biological, neurological, genetic, and environmental sources of origin. When addiction is seen through the lens of morality, victims of substance abuse often don’t receive the therapeutic and rehabilitation options and often leads to the stigma. Thus, the medicalization of addiction saw the de-stigmatization of individuals with substance abuse and saw the rise of therapeutic and rehabilitation options for victims of addiction.
Medicalization brings multiple aspects of life under the lens of medicine and offers a scientific, problem-solving approach to these issues. While some of these approaches can only curb the disease and not cure it, other approaches may give a new life to individuals who are often ostracized by society. With a mix of negative and positive proponents, striking medicalization as either positive or negative could be misleading. We must objectively look at medicalization and its factors to actively amend any wrongs done by medicalization and use its positives to propel humanity forward.