Cesarean deliveries on maternal request (CDMR) have become increasingly common in China within the past 20 years, coinciding with the dramatic rise in cesarean section rates. In recent years, the state has tried to control the escalation of cesarean section rates by restricting those that are considered medically “unnecessary” and particularly those requested by mothers. Drawing upon eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork and 34 interviews with women, providers and family members at a district hospital in Shanghai, I plan to present a chapter on my thesis focusing on the negotiations among the state, provider and woman over control of the childbirth process at the point of cesarean decision-making. I will show that even in light of the recent state regulations circumscribing CDMR, women nevertheless continue to successfully request cesareans and navigate state and medical authority. However, such “legitimate” requests break down along socioeconomic lines; those who request it successfully must have a certain knowledge base, social or economic capital, or proof of some valid risk calculation to convince the doctor to deviate from her “scientific judgment.”