ABSTRACT
The discourses around birth as a natural and normal biological and physiological process rather than a pathological one have seen a resurgence over the last two decades. The influential birth consumer movement, which began in the 1970s, contested the medicalisation of childbirth and the homogenising of women, highlighting how pregnancy and birth practices stereotyped women as incapable of knowing their own bodies and making their own decisions. Historically pregnancy and birth was a risky business and rarely viewed with the excitement and anticipation that it is today. In the eighteenth century, maternal mortality and morbidity was high and poor pregnancy outcomes were commonplace. Women are now portrayed as consumers of maternity services and the commodification of birthing, which is seen in the purchase of baby equipment such as the ‘right pram’ and co-ordinated nursery equipment. Antenatal scanning provides a prime example of a commodified aspect of pregnancy.
