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Interpreting Compliance and Resistance to Medical Dominance in Women's Accounts of Their Pregnancies

Author

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  • Rachel Westfall
  • Cecilia Benoit

Abstract

The dominant discourse of ‘risk’ underlies the medical surveillance of pregnant women. This article draws upon interview data from a purposeful sample of twenty-seven childbearing women, focusing on the tensions and negotiations that take place for these women between the informal, everyday experiences of childbearing and the formal boundaries of organised medical/midwifery care. Through such techniques as narrative reconstruction, rationalisation, and resistance and compromise, our respondents were active agents in interpreting and shaping their reproductive experiences. Yet, their experiences were invariably framed within the dominant discourse of medicine, pointing to its relevance even for women choosing alternative models of maternity care.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Westfall & Cecilia Benoit, 2008. "Interpreting Compliance and Resistance to Medical Dominance in Women's Accounts of Their Pregnancies," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 13(3), pages 62-77, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:13:y:2008:i:3:p:62-77
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.1714
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