Self-government processes of mothers in the context of the Brazilian Rede Cegonha Program

Abstract

The study highlights the discourses produced by mothers and professionals from the Rede Cegonha Program of the Brazilian Ministry of Health in the relationship between the body, women and public health policies on labor and birth. For this purpose, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted and categorized in the Rede Cegonha Program, body and woman, and submitted to Foucauldian discourse analysis, processes of subjectification (resistance and subjection) and biopolitics. The data revealed: i) the relevance of a public program for this purpose; ii) the centrality of the pregnant body and the historical challenge of understanding women as mothers beyond reproduction; iii) the idea of defective bodies and resistance of those who know how to give birth; and iv) the possibilities of self-government of mothers and, consequently, the production of the self based on the experiences reported. We highlight the importance of studies in the area that emphasize the bodies of mothers as being in control of their lives, strengthening their processes of self-government.

Key words:
Maternal and child health services; Childbirth; Human body; Women; Personal autonomy