This study focused on revealing the cultural meanings assigned to womanhood and the health-disease process in women according to the discourse of medical residents in Obstetrics/Gynecology at the Fernandes Figueira Institute, a public reference hospital specializing in maternal-child care in Rio de Janeiro. The research had two components: participatory observation in Ob-Gyn meetings and recording of oral sources. The sign-based method was used to analyze the data. The methodology included qualitative analytical coding of interviews and subsequent semiotic analysis. According to the results: (a) women are seen essentially as mothers, and their illness focuses primarily on their childbearing function; (b) technological evolution, mainly with the increased use of imaging, has reduced the importance of semiology; and (c) within the biotechnological context medicalization is part of the material and semiotic practices.