‘Bodies that birth’ and the violence it bears : in conversation with Rachelle Chadwick

Abstract

Rachelle Chadwick has been a crucial voice in theorising and exploring obstetric violence in the global south, especially in South Africa. Chadwick has published widely on reproductive politics, birth narratives, critical feminist methodologies and obstetric violence. She is currently leading the Gestational Justice Research Hub, a research group dedicated to gestational and reproductive justice at the University of Pretoria, funded by the National Research Foundation. In this interview Kaveri Mayra and Rodante van der Waal engage with Chadwick’s vast knowledge and expertise in the area of obstetric violence, specifically focusing on her 2018 monograph Bodies that Birth.