The Hospital Ritual Towards Maternity. Narratives of Obstetric Violence Based on Suffering

Abstract

This article analyzes stories from women who experienced pregnancies, births and postpartums during Covid-19 in Uruguay, seeking to identify the existence, or not, of situations of obstetric violence (OV). We start from suffering as an epistemological key to address this type of violence because it enables us to identify OV situations, whether or not they were objectified at the time by the women interviewed. Interrogating suffering also allows us to measure the consequences of VO in terms of intersubjectivity. We conclude that obstetric violence is especially significant, in terms of suffering, when it affects the mother and baby relationship.