Obstetric violence was not a term that I was familiar with until I started doing research on my book about holistic childbirth around the world.

The first person who mentioned the term to me was actually an OBGYN in Peru, Antonio Lévano, who admitted that obstretric violence was prevalent in Peru. After my interview with Dr. Lévano, a doula in Peru, Ariela Waltzer also brought up this topic without coaxing, which made me realize this was not a term that they invented, but a widespread issue in Peru and many other countries around the globe.

“What is obstetric violence?” I asked.

“Obstretric violence means they do not see your needs. They see their needs. They are not listening to you. They are listening to their book and the charts and numbers and what needs to be signed…. Obstetric violence is very big in Peru especially in private clinics.”

She admitted that obstetric violence is common in Peru and that people have been talking about it for the last fifteen years.

I was shocked.

I asked her if she could share specific examples. She described how the large percentage of c-sections in Lima, Peru is the biggest example. In Lima, the capital, 90% of births at clinics are c-sections. She mentioned that it wasn’t just taking away a woman’s choice about how she would give birth, but that it happens every step along labor

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