Social class, social selves and social control in childbirth

This paper analyses the birthing narratives of 50 Australian women to explo re their representations of their birthing experiences. Through the analysi s, issues of power, identity and control in childbirth are explored, partic ularly with respect to the major discursive categories framing childbirth. The birthing narratives of the women in this study revealed significant dif ferences in orientation to first birth according to women's social class, b ut also revealed significant shifts in identity and empowerment with subseq uent births. These findings differ significantly from existing accounts of power relations in childbirth, which have tended either to universalise wom en, or, in more recent post-structuralist accounts, to abandon the notion o f socially structured differences between women altogether. The findings of this research indicate that social class has a strong effect in the shapin g of identity, but that these differences can be transcended by the experie nce of childbirth itself, which is a critical reflexive moment in many wome n's lives.