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A dominant strand of second wave feminism, represented in this essay by Firestone, is tied to a belief in technology to achieve reproductive justice, echoing Western somatophobic rationality. As such, it has difficulty formulating a critique of institutionalized reproductive technologies that have the capacity to perpetuate systemic racializing and misogynous violence, and envisioning a philosophy of reproductive justice where care for the body takes central stage. In this essay, we offer a perspective on achieving reproductive justice from an age-old position largely neglected by feminism: that of midwifery. Midwifery has always been wary of technology in the field of reproduction, having first-hand experience with its consequences in birth and pregnancy, and has developed a field of scholarship critiquing its misuse. Simultaneously, midwifery negotiates technology from a position that prioritizes experiential, embodied, and tacit knowledge. Midwifery’s epistemological standpoint is that of a somatophilic rationality of thinking with the body, guarding women and birthing people’s reproductive autonomy through a specific technē that uses both technology and nature. A certain tendency in midwifery is, however, developing more and more towards an anti-technological essentialism. This essay therefore brings into dialogue Firestone’s Marxist women’s liberation through the elimination of biological sex with the help of technology, and midwifery’s somatophilic epistemic standpoint, to develop a feminist rational engagement with nature that can achieve reproductive justice, on the basis of their shared biological materialism.

Abstract Objective: To critically analyse the Australian Defence Force (ADF) policy on maternal health care: Health Directive No 235 – Management of pregnant members in the Australian Defence Force. Method: Bacchi's ‘What's the problem represented to be’ framework was used to analyse Health Directive No 235. This paper critically examines the representation of pregnancy and birth, the resulting effects and considers alternate representations. Results: The ADF's policy on maternal healthcare considers pregnancy as a health issue that requires specialist intervention and care, also known as the medicalisation of birth. Current research emphasises women‐centred care; a model of care not contained in the ADF policy. Conclusion: The problematisation of pregnancy in the ADF restricts women's choices regarding their maternal healthcare provider. This is contrary to the healthcare rights of Australians and likely contributes to health inequalities of ADF women. Implications for public health: A research gap regarding ADF women's knowledge and wishes regarding their maternal health care has been identified. Future research can inform any alterations to the ADF policy on maternal healthcare.

Abstract: Background: poor relationships between maternity care professionals still contribute to poor outcomes for childbearing women, although issues concerning power, gender, professionalism and the medicalisation of birth have been identified and discussed as germane to this situation for nearly three decades. Although power relationships and communication issues are known to affect the way maternity care professionals in the UK work together, there has been no study of the interplay between these factors, or of how semiotic aspects of professionals’ communication relate to it. Aim: to explore how National Health Service midwives’ discursive practices relate to the status quo; that is, how they contribute either to maintaining or challenging traditional discourses concerning power, gender, professionalism and the medicalisation of birth. Method: in a qualitative study within a critical discourse analysis framework, data were collected from maternity care professionals and women within one English maternity unit, through semi-structured interviews and observation of physical behaviour and naturally occurring conversation. Findings: midwives in the unit revealed an inconsistent professional identity, sometimes challenging established hierarchies and power relationships, but often reinforcing traditional notions of gender, professionalism and the medicalisation of birth through their discursive practices. Conclusions: given the known effect of wider social factors on maternity care, it is not surprising that the status quo persists, and that problems linked to these factors are still commonplace. This situation is compounded by the conflicting obligations under which UK midwives are forced to practice. These findings may have implications for midwives’ capacity to respond to current challenges facing the profession. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To critically analyse the Australian Defence Force (ADF) policy on maternal health care: Health Directive No 235 - Management of pregnant members in the Australian Defence Force., Method: Bacchi's 'What's the problem represented to be' framework was used to analyse Health Directive No 235. This paper critically examines the representation of pregnancy and birth, the resulting effects and considers alternate representations., Results: The ADF's policy on maternal healthcare considers pregnancy as a health issue that requires specialist intervention and care, also known as the medicalisation of birth. Current research emphasises women-centred care; a model of care not contained in the ADF policy., Conclusion: The problematisation of pregnancy in the ADF restricts women's choices regarding their maternal healthcare provider. This is contrary to the healthcare rights of Australians and likely contributes to health inequalities of ADF women. Implications for public health: A research gap regarding ADF women's knowledge and wishes regarding their maternal health care has been identified. Future research can inform any alterations to the ADF policy on maternal healthcare., (© 2017 The Authors.)