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Beyond control: body and self in women’s childbearing narratives
Author(s) -
Carter Shan K.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01261.x
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , social constructionism , narrative , power (physics) , gender studies , control (management) , birth control , sociology , white (mutation) , psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , demography , family planning , social science , research methodology , population , linguistics , philosophy , physics , management , biochemistry , chemistry , quantum mechanics , computer science , economics , gene , programming language
In the United States, childbearing is often conceptualised as a time when women lose self‐control over their bodies. This project examines issues of bodily control through a social constructionist analysis of in‐depth interviews with 18 predominantly white, working and middle class women who have recently given birth in the US. Findings indicate that many participants construct themselves as both in and out of control of their bodies during childbearing. Participants also describe body/self relationships in ways that transcend power and control, perceiving the body as autonomous, accommodating and collaborating. Accommodating and collaborating bodies were described here only among participants who gave birth in the midwifery model of care. The findings illuminate various ways of conceptualising the body and point to the use of different bodily discourses by women who give birth in medical and midwifery models.