ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades, the Indian maternity healthcare system has shifted towards a greater emphasis on institutional deliveries. While the quantity of women seeking institutional care was considered a victory, few questions were asked about the quality of care women would receive in these facilities. This chapter explores the impact of disrespectful and abusive treatment of South Asian women during institutionalised childbirth that is widespread and normalised in institutional care, both in private and public spheres. From the perspective of the woman, a facility which abuses and disrespects women can be as much of an extreme birth choice as the choice to reject the system. We describe these choices from both South Asian women’s perspectives as care seeker and midwives’ perspectives as primary care provider.
