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Paper Short Abstract:

This paper discusses how obstetric violence continues beyond labor and delivery by looking specifically at the experiences and health of postpartum people in San Jose, California. More specifically, this research addresses neglect and erasure.

Paper Abstract:

The postpartum period is a time of immense physical, emotional, and mental change, and for many postpartum individuals, it comes with many physiological challenges. Yet, postpartum care is often limited, especially for low-income individuals and those without health insurance. For many, education provided directly after birth is all the health information they will receive. Thus, this research analyzes the hospital education provided to postpartum individuals in person and online. Research was focused on various hospitals in the area of San Jose, California, all of which have labor and delivery wards. The online resources of several hospitals were investigated, and this data was supplemented by data from interviews with medical professionals that interact with postpartum patients at the hospitals, and the physical resources provided after birth, including posters and brochures. The limited information available online focuses on breastfeeding and infant care, not on the physiological conditions that may affect the postpartum individual, including, postpartum depression, hemorrhage, or chronic pain. Scholars have discussed the ways in which obstetric violence, which is mistreatment and abuse in childbirth, usually along lines of race, class, and gender, harms the birthing experience and birthing people. However, this analysis finds that obstetric violence continues beyond labor, and is seen through the way that postpartum individuals are neglected, and their experiences and needs are erased. By understanding the way birthing people are marginalized during and after birth, more progress can be made towards a medical system that prioritizes education and inclusion of birthing people, not just their infants.