The vague limits of bodily autonomy: Prenatal experiences and the preference of caesarean births by women in Türkiye

Abstract

In this article, we aim to understand the prenatal experiences of, and attitudes towards, caesarean sections (c-section) among middle-class women in Türkiye, in the context of the State’s declarations about reproductive choices in recent years. These declarations addressed the following two main viewpoints: encouragement of ‘at least three children’ per family; and restrictions on caesarean sections. The authors take these discourses as an indirect intervention on women’s bodily autonomy. Within this context, this article tries to understand women’s accounts of their own prenatal experiences in Türkiye. The findings show that respondents embrace excessive medicalisation of pregnancy for the sake of their babies, and do not perceive State encouragement as being an attempt to intervene on their birth choices. In addition, participants state that they prefer c-sections, and willingly accept this service from the private sector without considering the possibility that they may not actually need the procedure.