Decolonizing the midwifery curriculum: Jettisoning the Caldwell-Moloy pelvic types.

Abstract

As faculty in two different midwifery education programs, we have stopped teaching the Caldwell-Moloy classifications of the female pelvis, as have faculty in several other US midwifery programs. In this commentary, we explain the rationale for this change. We review the roots of the Caldwell-Moloy pelvic classification and the lack of contemporary scientific support for either classifying pelvic types or using such a classification for clinical decision-making, and propose an alternative approach to teaching assessment of the bony pelvis.