Lived Experience of Obstetric Violence in Romania: Birth, Wounded Flesh, and the Politics of Control

This article investigates obstetric violence in Romania as a systemic form of disciplining the female body within the context of medicalised childbirth. Through a phenomenological analysis of lived experience, based on 30 semi-structured interviews with women who gave birth in public and private institutions between 2019 and 2024, the research explores how obstetric abuse is experienced, narrated, and at times rationalised. The findings reveal a complex typology of obstetric violence—from non-consensual medical interventions and verbal abuse to subtle forms of abandonment, institutional silence, and symbolic expropriation. Birth emerges as an ambivalent space where the woman’s body is both hyper-visible and stripped of agency, reduced to an object of medical expertise. Obstetric violence is not an anomaly, but a recurring expression of how the biomedical system governs femininity, pain, and bodily autonomy. The implications of these findings underscore the need for institutional reforms in maternity care, including the adoption of consent-based practices, relational forms of support, and respectful communication. Applications include improved training for medical personnel, the development of patient-centred care protocols, and the creation of accountability mechanisms that address the structural dimensions of mistreatment.