Childbirth, authoritative knowledge in reproductive medicine and masculine hegemony.

ŠMÍDOVÁ, Iva. Childbirth, authoritative knowledge in reproductive medicine and masculine hegemony. In Alp Biricik and Jeff Hearn. GEXcel Work in Progress, Volume XV. 1st ed. Linkoping: Linkoping University, 2011, p. 167-174. ISBN 978-91--7519978-8.

Basic information

• Original name: Childbirth, authoritative knowledge in reproductive medicine and masculine hegemony.
• Authors: ŠMÍDOVÁ, Iva (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: 1. vyd. Linkoping, GEXcel Work in Progress, Volume XV, p. 167-174, 8 pp. 2011.
• Publisher: Linkoping University

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Proceedings paper
• Field of Study: 50000 5. Social Sciences
• Country of publisher: Sweden
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• WWW: URL
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14230/11:00050451
• Organization unit: Faculty of Social Studies
• ISBN: 978-91--7519978-8
• ISSN: 1650-9056
• Keywords (in Czech): sociologie medicíny; porod; hegemonie; moc; sociologická analýza; genderové vztahy
• Keywords in English: medical sociology; childbirth; power; sociological analysis; gender relations
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

The text presents authors current work in progress research on „men at childbirth“. It has moved on from analysing fathers presence in the birthing room (recently presented at the ISA conference in Goteborg 2011) to the hospital staff. I have started analysing hegemonic and non-hegemonic practices of doctors (women and men) in the institutional setting of maternity wards. Issues under study encompass associations between masculinity (gender), profession and technologies. Dominant biomedical (technology based “restorative” western practice in medicine) approach to childbirth, including its iatrogenic aspects (inherent negative by-products of such approach), and strong gender hierarchies both among the sets of authoritative knowledge and practices of the actors involved, have long been studied by social scientists beyond the Czech borders. In the Czech Republic so far, medical sociology, feminist theory and critical approaches to the practices in reproductive (as well as other branches of) medicine have been initiated only very recently. A team of three sociologists, myself included, have obtained a four year research grant for analysing Czech reproductive medicine (2011-2014), mainly in three subfields: DNA and embryo manipulation, assisted reproduction, and childbirth, the last being my research domain. For the whole project, organization of reproduction around the axes of gender is one of the key analytical concerns. The complexity of technologies (in the one of the core field of biomedicine), gender (historical appropriation of childbirth by men-professionals and more recent developments) and medical professions (with unquestioned prestige and power allocations) stimulates many research questions. Some of them and my approaches are offered for discussion at the conference and in the published text.

Links

• GAP404/11/0621, research and development project: Name: Porody, asistovaná reprodukce a zacházení s embryi. Sociologická analýza současné reprodukční medicíny v ČR.

Investor: Czech Science Foundation, Childbirth, assisted reproduction, and embryo manipulation. A sociological analysis of current reproductive medicine in