Maternal gift economy framework for addressing obstetric violence.

Abstract

The present article analyzes the economic aspects of maternity care, proposing the maternal gift economy theory as a possible framework for addressing the economic and structural causes of obstetric violence. In the current health economy, there is little room for love. Human attitudes such as caring, gentleness, kindness, compassion, empathy, and respect, recommended by the WHO and the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women for preventing and eradicating obstetric violence, are given no value within health systems. They are gifts that most of the time are unseen, exploited or ostracized. Both maternity care providers and users suffer from the lack of humanity when systems do not value their gift economy, particularly the one rooted in the maternal principles of unilateral giving. While we take for granted the economy we live in and we often find it useless or even dangerous to discuss its principles and practices, we cannot ignore the influence the economy has on the behavior of individuals and systems if we want to change them.