Obstetric ultrasonography and its relation to the secondarization of pregnant woman experience

Abstract

Obstetric ultrasound examination is not part of the prenatal routine recommended by WHO or the Ministry of Health. However, it is the most commonly used prenatal examination, although there is no demonstration that this procedure reduces perinatal morbidity and mortality. or maternal. What produces the growing pursuit and naturalization of this consumption? What effects does it have on the experience of pregnant women? This paper aims to discuss how obstetric ultrasonography, in its marketing uses and procedures, produces a secondization of women's experience. It is a qualitative study that used participant observation for data collection and uses the Pechaux discourse analysis method. Twenty-three ultrasound examinations were observed in the city of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, in order to analyze the discourses present during the examinations. The discourses were divided into 6 categories: The inversion of protagonist the incubator, Baby Tour and subjectivation of movements, Show audience: production and consumption of perceptions, The sale of products or induction to the type of delivery, From visible fetuses to the rights of the unborn. and The body that appears: the subjective disembodiment. The way ultrasound has been used modifies the pregnant woman's place of experience, transferring all the protagonism to the fetus or doctor as the scene director. The appeal for the abusive consumption of exams facilitates their commercialization, weakens the ability to cope with medicalization and may result in dependence and alienation.