Birth Wars

Told through deeply personal stories in the trenches of the maternal health care sector, "Birth Wars" explores the clash between a woman-centered midwifery model based on ancestral knowledge and the contrasting institutional birth practices of today.

The story takes place in Mexico and Guatemala, where, as the title suggests, there is an intense conflict being fought over who gets to decide how women give birth. It's a very unequal fight with the medical establishment wielding all the power, with life and death implications for many women and children.

In Mexico, most births take place in hospitals, that are often overcrowded and ill-equipped, and where many women feel they are subjected to obstetric violence. Their story repeats itself throughout the world every day, resulting in abuses of human rights and bodily autonomy.

Maternal health advocates have started a passionate campaign for justice and equality, calling for a transformation of the current institutional obstetric model. A core aspect of their strategy is the reappraisal of the role of midwives, who, for decades, have been caught in a system of power that largely rejects them.

This visual journey, told over twelve years, draws a contrast between the care offered by midwives and birth procedures in public hospitals, taking viewers from the Mexican states of Chiapas, Guerrero and San Luis Potosi to the Western highlands of Guatemala.