Obstetric violence is an emergent paradigm that uses gender-based violence to frame traumatic childbirth. Despite its growing popularity in the literature, it may not adequately address the nuanced ways that all actors experience these interactions. While Costa Rica adopted a nationally endorsed humane birthing policy, the semi-structured interviews on which I draw in this article show that health care personnel continue to dehumanize and objectify women; experiences considered characteristic of obstetric violence.
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