No birth territory can exist outside the gendered, political, economic, social and legal power networks of a given culture. These networks are continuously acting consciously and unconsciously on women, midwives and doctors in ways that limit and direct what is possible in terms of birth territories at the local level. At the social level, the networks of power have the effect of reproducing medical domination and imultaneously the submission of women and midwives within whole cultures. I would argue that feeling submissive actually weakens people physically, intellectually and emotionally. Women need to feel strong and confident in order to birth using their own power and in order to make the best decisions for themselves and their babies. This chapter introduces some important theoretical ideas that will help you to understand how power operates at the social and the individual level.
Birth Territory and Midwifery Guardianship: Theory for Practice, Education and Research p. 3-10