Embodiment and the technologies of induction of labour

Abstract

Objective: To critically engage with the body project of induction of labour. Design: A nested, qualitative study that formed part of a feasibility Random Controlled Trial investigating different methods of outpatient induction of labour. The data reported in this article were gathered via interview with women and midwives involved in the trial. All the participants who took part in the trial presented as cisgender women. Findings: Analysis of 27 interview transcripts suggested that the expansion in choice of when, how and where to start labour can change the way decisions about labour onset is understood. The space needed for a new body project is emerging where distinctions between medicalised labour and spontaneous labour are less clear. Conclusion: The embodiment of the new technologies of induction for those involved in this study was both a facet of increased freedom and autonomy and a gendered discourse where the normative function of routine intervention appeared more complete.