'Giving birth is not a matter of ethnicity, it is a matter of humanity': experiences of obstetric violence during childbirth among indigenous women

Autor: Emily Gaffney Gleason, Diana Patricia Molina Berrío, Jennifer Marcela López Ríos, Cristina María Mejía Merino
Jazyk: English<br />Spanish; Castilian
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Salud Colectiva, Vol 17, p e3727 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1669-2381
1851-8265
DOI: 10.18294/sc.2021.3727
Popis: This study aims to understand the experiences of obstetric violence experienced by Embera women during childbirth at healthcare facilities in the city of Medellin, Colombia. Employing a qualitative, ethnographic approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine indigenous Embera women between February and March of 2020. The data indicate these women, members of the largest indigenous community in Medellín, experience similar forms of obstetric violence to non-indigenous women, which might be explained by the authoritarian medical habitus and a health system that prioritizes market forces. However, the data also reveal that indigenous women experience a specific form of this phenomenon: a lack of respect or cultural sensitivity, stemming from the process of colonialism to which indigenous peoples have been subjected. This dynamic continues to be expressed during delivery in healthcare childbirth settings via ignorance and disregard for indigenous ancestral knowledge, which can be understood as microaggressions that occur frequently but are difficult to identify.
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