Contemporary models of care during childbearing: respected bodies, women empowered

This article discusses contemporary models of care during childbearing in Uruguay. The sociological theories regarding risk, body and medicalization of society, the models of human health defined by the anthropologist David Floyd and the feminist perspective about sexuality are taken into account. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and discussion groups conducted by the author during a research carried out to obtain the Master's degree in Sociology. Within this frame some reflections are made from the following questions: Which conceptions of individual and of human body are behind the different models of care during childbearing? Which practices result from those conceptions? To what extent do the different models of care respect women's rights as human beings?