My First Year Too: Obstetric Violence and Maternal Subjectivity

The chapter tackles the problem of obstetric violence as a case of violation of women's reproductive rights. Its ideological implication is to uphold the standard of docile femininity, control maternal bodies, and ensure submissive behaviour. The topic has been profoundly explored in feminist theories, however, to Latvian society, it was introduced recently mainly through an artistic initiative My First Year Too (2021–ongoing). The project emerged in Latvia as an Instagram account but soon evolved into a community of young mothers sharing their lived experiences. My First Year Too draws critical attention to the often unjustifiable and unnecessary suffering women have to endure during childbirth, disrupting the ideological construct of birth as an ordeal. The collective pronouncement of maternal subjectivities discards the prevailing idea that women at birth cannot be accountable, while exposing shortcomings of maternal healthcare in Latvia