IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v12y2022i3p78-d809717.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Mix of Races, Bad Uterus”: Obstetric Violence in the Experiences of Afro-Brazilian Migrants in Portugal

Author

Listed:
  • Catarina Barata

    (Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Aníbal de Bettencourt 9, 1600-189 Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

In this article, I address the issues of obstetric violence and racism in the Portuguese setting of obstetric care. Based on data collected through interviews and participatory artistic creation, I analyze the perception of three Afro-Brazilian migrants about their perinatal experiences of obstetric care in the Portuguese public sector between 2013 and 2019. These women’s experiences have much in common with experiences of obstetric violence as narrated by Portuguese, non-racialized women. Despite this, certain aspects of their experience are related to their particular identification as Brazilian, migrant, and Black, such as xenophobic discrimination and their placement in systems of stratified reproduction, including a supposed tendency for birth by caesarean section, as well as self-policing behaviors because of the stereotype of Brazilian women as flirty. I consider a range of manifestations of obstetric violence and racism, from more overt forms to more covert ones, to analyze how, in a country where racism and obstetric violence are only slowly beginning to be recognized as the norm, multiple discriminations intersect and have an impact on the experiences of women of their bodies in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, including breastfeeding.

Suggested Citation

  • Catarina Barata, 2022. "“Mix of Races, Bad Uterus”: Obstetric Violence in the Experiences of Afro-Brazilian Migrants in Portugal," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:12:y:2022:i:3:p:78-:d:809717
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/3/78/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/3/78/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meghan A Bohren & Joshua P Vogel & Erin C Hunter & Olha Lutsiv & Suprita K Makh & João Paulo Souza & Carolina Aguiar & Fernando Saraiva Coneglian & Alex Luíz Araújo Diniz & Özge Tunçalp & Dena Javadi , 2015. "The Mistreatment of Women during Childbirth in Health Facilities Globally: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-32, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Violeta Alarcão & Sónia Pintassilgo, 2023. "Old and New Actors and Phenomena in the Three-M Processes of Life and Society: Medicalization, Moralization and Misinformation," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-4, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Narayani Paudel Ghimire & Sunil Kumar Joshi & Pranab Dahal & Katarina Swahnberg, 2021. "Women’s Experience of Disrespect and Abuse during Institutional Delivery in Biratnagar, Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-10, September.
    2. Katarina Swahnberg & Anke Zbikowski & Kumudu Wijewardene & Agneta Josephson & Prembarsha Khadka & Dinesh Jeyakumaran & Udari Mambulage & Jennifer J. Infanti, 2019. "Can Forum Play Contribute to Counteracting Abuse in Health Care? A Pilot Intervention Study in Sri Lanka," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-10, May.
    3. Rena Bakker & Ephrem D Sheferaw & Jelle Stekelenburg & Tegbar Yigzaw & Marlou L A de Kroon, 2020. "Development and use of a scale to assess gender differences in appraisal of mistreatment during childbirth among Ethiopian midwifery students," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Emanuelle Pessa Valente & Ilaria Mariani & Benedetta Covi & Marzia Lazzerini, 2022. "Quality of Informed Consent Practices around the Time of Childbirth: A Cross-Sectional Study in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Dinusha Perera & Muzrif Munas & Katarina Swahnberg & Kumudu Wijewardene & Jennifer J. Infanti & on behalf of the ADVANCE Study Group, 2022. "Obstetric Violence Is Prevalent in Routine Maternity Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of Obstetric Violence and Its Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Sri Lanka’s Colombo District," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    6. Smit, Anri & Coetzee, Bronwynè Jo’sean & Roomaney, Rizwana & Bradshaw, Melissa & Swartz, Leslie, 2019. "Women's stories of living with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 231-245.
    7. Lange, Isabelle L. & Kanhonou, Lydie & Goufodji, Sourou & Ronsmans, Carine & Filippi, Véronique, 2016. "The costs of ‘free’: Experiences of facility-based childbirth after Benin's caesarean section exemption policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 53-62.
    8. Firew Tekle Bobo & Habtamu Kebebe Kasaye & Belachew Etana & Mirkuzie Woldie & Tesfaye Regassa Feyissa, 2019. "Disrespect and abuse during childbirth in Western Ethiopia: Should women continue to tolerate?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Hagaman, Ashley & Gonzalez Rodriguez, Humberto & Egger, Emilie & Bitewulign, Befikadu & Case, Haley & Alemayehu, Abiyou Kiflie & Rhodes, Elizabeth C. & Estifanos, Abiy Seifu & Singh, Kavita & Woldesen, 2023. "Navigating and manipulating childbirth services in Afar, Ethiopia: A qualitative study of cultural safety in the birthing room," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    10. Maria De Jesus & Nora Sullivan & William Hopman & Alex Martinez & Paul David Glenn & Saviour Msopa & Brooke Milligan & Noah Doney & William Howell & Kimberly Sellers & Monica C. Jackson, 2023. "Examining the Role of Quality of Institutionalized Healthcare on Maternal Mortality in the Dominican Republic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(14), pages 1-11, July.
    11. Esme Gardiner & Jo Freda Lai & Divya Khanna & Graciella Meza & Gilles de Wildt & Beck Taylor, 2021. "Exploring women’s decisions of where to give birth in the Peruvian Amazon; why do women continue to give birth at home? A qualitative study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-20, September.
    12. Refilwe Malatji & Sphiwe Madiba, 2020. "Disrespect and Abuse Experienced by Women during Childbirth in Midwife-Led Obstetric Units in Tshwane District, South Africa: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Rena Bakker & Ephrem D. Sheferaw & Tegbar Yigzaw & Jelle Stekelenburg & Marlou L. A. de Kroon, 2020. "Risk Factors for Positive Appraisal of Mistreatment during Childbirth among Ethiopian Midwifery Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-9, April.
    14. Desirée Mena-Tudela & Susana Iglesias-Casás & Víctor Manuel González-Chordá & María Jesús Valero-Chillerón & Laura Andreu-Pejó & Águeda Cervera-Gasch, 2021. "Obstetric Violence in Spain (Part III): Healthcare Professionals, Times, and Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-17, March.
    15. Elizabeth Zitha & Mathilda M. Mokgatle, 2020. "Women’s Views of and Responses to Maternity Services Rendered during Labor and Childbirth in Maternity Units in a Semi-Rural District in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-12, July.
    16. Janet Lok Chun Lee & Temmy Lee Ting Lo & Rainbow Tin Hung Ho, 2018. "Understanding Outdoor Gyms in Public Open Spaces: A Systematic Review and Integrative Synthesis of Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Georgia Michlig & Nicole Warren & Merry Berhe & Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, 2021. "Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among Somali Women in the U.S. State of Arizona: Evidence of Treatment Access, Health Service Use and Care Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, April.
    18. Derek Asuman & Ama Pokuaa Fenny & Doreen Nyarko Anyamesem Odame, 2021. "Trends and antecedents of inequalities in maternal healthcare coverage in four African countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 515-544, April.
    19. Malambo, Nomthandazo, 2021. "“Not from home”: Cancer screening avoidance and the safety of distance in Eswatini," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    20. Bradley, Susan & McCourt, Christine & Rayment, Juliet & Parmar, Divya, 2016. "Disrespectful intrapartum care during facility-based delivery in sub-Saharan Africa: A qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis of women's perceptions and experiences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 157-170.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:12:y:2022:i:3:p:78-:d:809717. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.