Labour Relations: Mothers and Hospital Procedure

Abstract

This paper is an examination of how two groups of women, i.e. those who attend hospital ante-natal classes and those who attend ante-natal classes outside the hospital, cope with giving birth and with breastfeeding in an institutional setting. Using the concept of ‘rule’ developed by Anthony Giddens, it will be shown how women from both class settings actively drew on the ‘rules of childbirth’ that are learned in ante-natal classes, that these rules are enabling rather than constraining and that Giddens’ assertion that institutions do not just work ‘behind the backs’ of the social actors is thus justified. Feminist critiques of health care have argued that the unequal power relations that exist between medical personnel and pregnant women are based on gender, i.e. male doctors trying to control female bodies. However, I would argue that examining gender relations between doctors and patients is not enough. We must also examine the social context in which birth occurs and the resources which women bring to the hospital.