This talk explores the representation of ob/gyn violence in contemporary women’s writing in France, as well as the role of social media in shedding light on this sexist form of violence. From Camille Laurens to Julie Bonne, French writers have been representing traumatic experiences of childbirth; yet our readings often fail to highlight the systemic nature of these violent acts and the androcentric medical knowledge and patriarchal order that underpin them. By engaging with medical and legal discourse, this talk calls attention to the power of words, proposes a paradigmatic shift in literary criticism, and provides an example of the mobilization of stories and testimonies to train health professionals. Inspired by the field of narrative medicine and a recent experience with resident ob/gyn doctors at Vilnius Hospital, this presentation shows that words matter.

The present research investigates obstetric violence within Hungary's public healthcare system, focusing on women's experiences and narratives about giving birth. It explores the intersections of gender, ethnicity, and class hierarchies in these situations, as well as the influence of family dynamics, demographic processes, and institutional mediation. It employs qualitative methods - most importantly in-depth interviews - and focuses on Hungarian Roma and non-Roma women’s narratives to uncover disparities in their experiences.

In Hungary, official data on this issue is lacking, but a rising number of cesarean sections could serve as an indirect indicator of mistreatment. While grassroots movements have raised awareness, scientific research remains sparse. Alternative databases and initiatives offer valuable insights, but their lack of cohesion limits a comprehensive understanding. The present research underscores that routine procedures during childbirth can lead to negative or traumatic experiences, with narratives, resolutions, and visibility varying based on class and ethnicity. The research relies on and analyzes in-depth interviews with women who gave birth in the public health care system.

This research aims to expose hidden institutional mechanisms affecting women through individual narratives, shedding light on systemic oppression within healthcare. By including marginalized groups like the Roma population, it unveils social meanings and roots of trauma, contributing to a deeper understanding of obstetric violence in Hungary.

The Traveller community in Ireland experience significant health inequalities, compounded by, the social determinants of health including, poor accommodation conditions, poverty, racism and discrimination (AITHS, 2010). Maternal and perinatal outcomes for Traveller women are exceptionally poor as they experience higher parity, higher rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, perinatal death, and infant death as well as shorter intervals between pregnancies (Manning et al., 2016). Outcomes of pregnancies are also more risky for Traveller women and their babies - infant mortality is 3.5 times national rate and average birth weights are much lower (Pavee Point, 2018).

The Covid-19 pandemic created further challenges for Traveller women who were pregnant and in early motherhood. International data highlighted the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic groups, including Travellers and Roma. Specific rules were imposed on service users of the maternity system regarding how they engage with services throughout their pregnancy and how they give birth.

This paper presents the findings of research conducted in partnership with Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, a leading national Traveller organisation, with Traveller women and Traveller community health workers in Ireland. The research explored the lived experiences of pregnancy and birth during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings contribute to the timely discussion of maternity service provision during Covid-19 where there were significant changes to service provision and how women are engaged with. The research also highlights particular challenges and outlines key service barriers and issues which are still experienced by Traveller women and their partners post-pandemic.

This paper derives from the author’s work as a therapist in the area of pregnancy loss and infertility. It explores situations of involuntary childlessness, where a woman must confront the reality that she will not transition into motherhood, in terms of how this is ordinarily understood. It considers the processes involved in transfiguring situations of ‘emptiness’, into states of mind (and body) that might feel in some way generative and whole again. For some women, this may still include a sense of being a mother, where there have been experiences of pregnancy loss in which a deep connection was forged with a particular baby, or even the idea of a baby. For others, the deeply desired state of motherhood may feel entirely elusive or withheld. The therapeutic process offers a space within which emptiness and absence can be thought about, and the losses inherent within this, mourned and accommodated.

In the practice of drawing, the term ‘negative space’ refers to the gap between objects: we capture the likeness of something, by paying careful attention to what is ‘not there’. A similar kind of attention is necessary in the contexts of loss being discussed here, in order to delineate in therapy, the tender and private absences that can shape and define a life. This in turn can permit a fuller engagement in due course with other generative possibilities.

These processes will be illustrated via clinical vignettes, images and poetry that speak to ideas of absence and potential space.