Obstetric Violence and the Birthing Body: A Reading from Feminist Philosophy

Obstetric Violence and the Birthing Body: A Reading from Feminist Philosophy examines the phenomenon of violence against women and birthing subjects during medicalized birth from the viewpoint of diverse fields within feminist philosophy.

The phenomenon of obstetric violence--violence and the dehumanizing treatment of laboring women at the hands of medical staff--affects women and birthing persons all over the world, with dreadful consequences. This book argues that obstetric violence is a distinct form of violence against women that cannot be adequately understood simply by labeling it as ＂gender violence.＂ It demonstrates how violent obstetric practices have been normalized and provides practical guidance for those seeking to influence social policies and create structural change within women’s healthcare.

Obstetric Violence and the Birthing Body will be of use to women everywhere, health providers, policy makers, and students and researchers in many branches of feminist philosophy as well as other academic disciplines including public health, human rights, welfare, sociology, midwifery, medical anthropology, medical ethics, and law.

Sara Cohen Shabot is Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department and Chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at The University of Haifa, Israel, specializing in feminist philosophy, phenomenology, and philosophies of the body. Her present research and publications address feminist philosophical perspectives on childbirth and the maternal embodied subject.