Do the health visitor's professional training and bureaucratic responsibilities separate her from the women she is serving?

Abstract

Health visiting is principally a profession of women whose activities are essentially directed at women rather than for women. This article explores the reasons that might account for this, focussing on the way in which the gender division of labour and the social relations governing health visiting are mirrored in the lives of health visitors as women and in the work that women as health visitors undertake. Furthermore, the socialisation process through health visitor training and the maintenance of social relations through the bureaucratic practice which governs health visiting is explored. Finally, this article seeks to put forward ways in which feminist pedagogical approaches to health visitor education can transform health visiting practice.