Obstetric violence and human development: knowledge, power and agency in Colombian women’s birth stories

Laura Tolton,Marcos Claudio Signorelli

doi:10.5380/guaju.v4i2.57866

Abstract

Obstetric violence was first described in Latin America, consisting of violence perpetrated mainly by health workers against women during pregnancy, birth or postpartum. It affects women worldwide and represents a challenge for human development, as it negatively affects women’s health and rights. This study reflects on the experiences of obstetric violence of a group of Colombian women, bringing visibility to their experiences and analyzing the language they use as a way to understand the issues underpinning these narratives. We adopted qualitative research with in-depth interviews and analyzed the narratives using discourse analysis. This research highlighted: 1) the women’s point of view; despite not being aware of the term “obstetric violence,” their experiences fit into this category that is often naturalized; 2) a hierarchy of knowledge with the biomedical model as authoritative, in which health professionals do not give adequate weight to women’s experiences or knowledge; 3) the relations between obstetric violence and human development, considering women’s (dis)empowerment and the limitations that these abuses imply for women’s freedom and agency.

Highlights

In 2015 the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015)
This paper focuses on one specific type of violence against women, which is the violence practiced by health professionals during the period of pregnancy, birth and post-partum
Venezuela became the first country to define obstetric violence in law in the following way in 2007: The appropriation of women’s bodies and reproductive processes by health personnel, which is expressed through dehumanizing treatment [and] abuse of the medicalization and pathologization of natural processes, resulting in women losing autonomy and the ability to decide freely about their bodies and sexuality, which negatively impacts their quality of life (VENEZUELA, 2007, p.8)

Summary

Introduction

In 2015 the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015). Venezuela became the first country to define obstetric violence in law in the following way in 2007: The appropriation of women’s bodies and reproductive processes by health personnel, which is expressed through dehumanizing treatment [and] abuse of the medicalization and pathologization of natural processes, resulting in women losing autonomy and the ability to decide freely about their bodies and sexuality, which negatively impacts their quality of life (VENEZUELA, 2007, p.8). This law provides examples including “inattention to obstetric emergencies, birth in the lithotomy position, needless separation of mother and child, and augmentation of labour or caesarean delivery without consent” (DIAZ-TELLO, 2016, pp.). We have attempted to establish a dialogue between this issue and human development, focusing on women’s freedom, empowerment and agency

Methodology

11. São Paulo