Abstract:
In this paper, my aim is to call attention to the meanings women attach to their
birthing experiences using the symbolic interaction perspective in conjunction with a
feminist lens. I argue that the obstetrical model of childbirth defines the course of the
relationship between the laboring woman and attendant, limiting the amount of control
women have over a hospital experience. In 2001 I interviewed 12 women who gave birth
between the years 1932-2001. I found that the social location of actors, setting, and
interventions affected the level of control they had in guiding the interaction. I
additionally learned that the decision making process of where to birth had as much
influence as the experience of birth itself did on the meaning of childbirth for this group of women. For some of the women in this study, redefining the birth experience allowed them to negotiate their own reality.
