Obstetric violence and the paradigm of hegemonical discourse in the health area

Abstract

This article investigated the process of naturalization of obstetric violence practices and the constant silencing suffered by women. The study intended to verify whether the hegemony of the health professionals discourse interferes in the perception of cases of obstetric violence. From the historical perspective on the subject, it was possible to understand the origin of the debate and its delimitation as violence suffered by women in childbirth or abortion care. In a second moment, when the problems surrounding the relationship between health professionals and patients were highlighted, the study dealt with the political theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, a theoretical matrix for the analysis of social and political phenomena. In the present case, this theory comprised the analysis of the formation of the hegemonic discourse existing in the health area. Demonstrated such discursive hegemony, the interference of this reality in the perception of cases of obstetrical violence was also demonstrated. Finally, alternatives for transforming discourse into hegemony were analyzed.