Authoritative knowledge of childbirth and obstetrics: analysis of discursive practices of Russian perinatal specialists

Abstract

The article discusses discursive practices of official and alternative perinatal specialists: obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives of maternity hospitals, domestic midwives and doulas. To analyze these practices, the author uses the notion of authoritative knowledge proposed by Brigitte Jordan and dating back to the power-knowledge concept by Michel Foucault. The author focuses on controversial but widely used concepts such as obstetric violence and natural childbirth. Additionally, the author regards such relatively new for the Russian community concepts as humanization of childbirth, obstetric model, demedicalization of childbirth, etc. The study is based on the materials of the founding conference of the professional non-profit association Obstetric Union, which was held at Moscow Perinatal Medical Center Mother and Child on November 30 – December 1, 2019.