From wet nurses to orphaned mothers: reflections on the right to maternity in Brazil

Abstract

This article addresses the compulsory seizing of children from vulnerable women in Brazil. Its objectives were: to discuss the violation of the right to maternity; to present the imposed restrictions especially on poor, black and indige-nous women; the strategic control over their lives and children, and the resistance movements that oppose segregation. The sources of the research were: narratives of women in vulnerable situa-tions, family members and health workers; inter-views with strategic actors; document analysis; field journal. It became evident that vulnerabili-ties-linked to the criminalization of poverty and racial prejudice-have justified these separations. The lack of responsibility that State and society practice towards the support network for women, the devaluation of non-hegemonic productions of maternity, and the reinforcement of a ‘reason of the world’, that produces violence as a tool for exclusion establishing practical limits on the right to maternity. Women and children are disregar-ded in their singularities. Resistance movements have shown that intersectoral dialogues are an alternative to overcome discrimination and vulnerabilities.