“Birth Wars: In Search of Dignity” is a visual narrative about the pursuit of dignified childbirth with quality care. Through her lens, Janet Jarman brings us closer to a problem that faces women in many countries around the world.

 Jarman’s story unfolds in Guatemala and Mexico where indigenous communities traditionally rely on midwives for childbirth but where medical authorities and practitioners favor hospital births, leading to an abnormally high number of caesarean sections, unnecessary procedures, and feelings of disrespect and abuse. It explores the clash between a woman-centered midwifery model based on ancestral knowledge and the contrasting institutional birth practices of today.

With intimate images and deeply personal narratives, “Birth Wars” tells a story of the struggle for women’s rights, for women to decide where, how, and with whom they would like to give birth.

The book  size is  22x 27cm. Pages: 239. Photographs: 106 color images and 14 placenta prints.

The book Birth Wars is a part of a long-term project that includes a documentary film of the same name that has been screened at 57 film festivals worldwide.