The change of paradigm in perinatal sciences: the role of Narrative Medicine and Medical Humanities

Abstract

Many healthcare and academic institutions are now recognizing Narrative Medicine and Medical Humanities as a means to developing holistic, individualized patient care, even though they are applied in professional development settings and less overtly employed with patient populations. In this article, we provide a general description of the impact of Narrative Medicine and Medical Humanities on perinatal care and educational programs. Above all, the need is stressed for an approach to these issues with innovative mental categories capable of overcoming pre-constructed and dogmatically-constructed patterns. The combination of medical science with humanistic science and the centrality of the value of narration are the cornerstones of a holistic perinatal culture.

Proceedings of the 10^th International Workshop on Neonatology · Cagliari (Italy) · October 22^nd-25^th, 2014 · The last ten years, the next ten years in Neonatology

Guest Editors: Vassilios Fanos, Michele Mussap, Gavino Faa, Apostolos Papageorgiou