Regulating Birth: Locating Power at the Intersection of Private and Public in Oregon History

Abstract

Historicizing birth — working to understand how and why the practices and experiences of childbirth have developed and changed and how efforts to “regulate birth” have shaped both its practice and experience — allows us to chart shifting dominant values as well as the impacts of those changes. Social anxieties about citizenship, family, and life itself often underlay birthing regulations. From the impact of federal Indian policies on Native communities, to the role of labor unions in advocating for access to birth control, to the unfolding history of genetic testing and its influence on birth choices, to the history of midwifery and home birth, the regulation of birth both reflects and shapes community assumptions regarding inclusion and exclusion. The articles in this special issue present a compelling case for focusing historical attention on childbirth. As historians of women and gender have long argued, centering historical inquiry on experiences previously dismissed as merely “women's issues” can both deepen our historical knowledge and challenge traditional narratives.