Framing Birth: Postfeminism in the Delivery Room

Abstract

The debates surrounding the practice of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) offer a unique opportunity for rhetorical scholars to consider the complex dynamics of change in healthcare settings. More specifically, what the debates surrounding VBAC illustrate is how a hegemonic institution (the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and its associated physicians and hospitals) responds to advocates for change by domesticating, or containing, feminist arguments for self-determination. This essay offers a feminist rhetorical analysis of the VBAC debates with a focus on the interaction between two argumentative frames, the self-determination frame of feminist activists and the neoliberal risk frame of the medical establishment. The College's rhetoric of containment converts feminist calls for resistance and self-determination into a postfeminist emphasis on patients' responsibilities when managing health risks.

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