In this paper, which is part of a broader study on the discursive representation of pregnancy and childbirth, we present a critical discourse analysis of a 'letter to the obstetrician'. The choice of this theme was motivated by the question of hospitalization of childbirth in Brazil, country where the index of caesarean surgeries registered in private hospitals is 82%, the highest in the world. In addition, the choice of this kind of letter as analytical object to this paper is due to the realization of an innovative discursive genre, related to the pro natural childbirth movement in Brazil. Employing analytical categories as assessment, cohesion, modality, presupposition and intensification, we investigate styles in the text, considering the discursive construction of identity and processes of identification. Our analysis indicates high use of intensification and denial, beyond the recurrent expression of feelings, judgments and assessments. Taking the document as a record of a situation, we interpret the doctor's performance evaluation as part of a wider criticism of the care model in Brazil, which embodies aspects of hegemonic struggle discursively performed.
critical discourse analysis; birth; obstetric violence; assessment