Abstract:
This paper focuses on the receptivity of researches about childbirth within the Social Sciences. On one hand, we have acknowledged an increasing consolidation of this investigation field, from social demands that were raised due to the actual obstetric scenario in Brazil, in which different discourses are articulated, ranging from public policies to social movements. On the other hand, there is a recurrent delegitimization not only of researches and their addressed issues but also of researchers and their motivations. Therefore, due to the above consideration, and based on situations that were experienced by the authors in the academic and/or feminist context, we present a critical perspective of some recurrent comments that we have identified with the hegemonic discourse, which poses no critics about the Brazilian obstetric reality. As for instance, we also analyse episiotomy as an emblematic intervention that illustrates how the knowledge about woman’s body was shaped and controlled by prejudice and power.
Keywords:
Childbirth.; Social research.; Feminism.; Neutrality.