Andres Restrepo Sanchez

This project explores the challenges of bringing life into a context of death. Colombia has suffered one of the longest internal armed conflicts, and Medellín has been one of its most affected territories. I am interested in how multiple scales of violence are understood, experienced, and/or resisted in birth contexts in Medellín. Obstetric violence has been used in various Latin American countries to describe how women become victims of abuse during childbirth, which has generated demands for a “humanized birth” reform, including new legislation and institutional change. This research considers obstetric violence and care as complex phenomena connected to broader forms of structural violence and resistance. I will conduct 12 months of archival research and institutional ethnography to answer: How do people giving birth and their care teams in Medellín understand and navigate the challenges of childbirth in the context of the last four decades of narco- and structural violence, health reforms, and recent demands for dignified, humanized, and respectful maternal care? My research contributes to the anthropology of reproduction by situating birth experiences and reforms in longstanding legacies of conflict and resistance. I expand the analysis of obstetric violence beyond the hospital, unsettling connections between violence, care, and resistance.