On 28 November, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., ACADP and the IPOV – Respectful Care project will host the online conference “Social Hypogalactia and Obstetric Violence: Breastfeeding, Rights, and Sovereignty”, delivered by Ester Massó Guijarro, researcher and lecturer at the University of Granada.

The session will be held in virtual format via Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/shm-erqz-bcj), making it accessible to participants from different regions and professional backgrounds.

The conference will explore the relationship between breastfeeding, reproductive rights and structural forms of violence in contemporary societies. The notion of “social hypogalactia” refers not only to biological difficulties in breastfeeding, but also to the social, economic and cultural conditions that hinder or prevent women from breastfeeding in the way they would wish. Time pressures, precarious employment, lack of institutional support, and dominant cultural norms around motherhood all contribute to a context in which breastfeeding becomes a privilege rather than a guaranteed right.

In this framework, the concept of obstetric violence is key. The speaker will examine how certain practices during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can undermine women’s autonomy, their right to informed decision-making and their bodily integrity. Obstetric violence does not only occur through explicit abuse or neglect; it also manifests through routine interventions carried out without adequate consent, disrespectful treatment, or institutional dynamics that prioritise efficiency and control over the needs and rhythms of women and babies.

By linking obstetric violence with breastfeeding, the conference will highlight how the experience of childbirth and early postpartum care can either support or damage the establishment and continuity of breastfeeding. Interventions such as unnecessary inductions or caesarean sections, separation of mother and baby without medical justification, or lack of support for skin-to-skin contact and early initiation of breastfeeding may have lasting consequences for both physical health and emotional well-being.

The lecture will also address these issues from a rights-based and political perspective. Breastfeeding will be framed not only as a health practice, but as a matter of social justice and sovereignty: sovereignty over one’s own body, over reproductive and caregiving choices, and over the ways in which communities organise to support or hinder these choices. The analysis will invite participants to reflect on how public policies, health systems and social structures can either perpetuate inequalities or contribute to more respectful and equitable models of care.

The activity is aimed at ACADP students, students and teaching staff from social sciences and health-related disciplines, professionals involved in reproductive care (such as midwives, obstetricians, nurses, doulas and other practitioners), as well as members of civil society and anyone interested in the topic. The event seeks to create a space for interdisciplinary dialogue, where academic knowledge, clinical practice and social activism can be brought into conversation.

By bringing together concepts such as social hypogalactia, obstetric violence, breastfeeding, rights and sovereignty, this conference aspires to offer tools for critical reflection and practical transformation. Participants will be invited to question normalised practices, identify structural barriers, and imagine more respectful, rights-based and community-oriented approaches to reproductive care.

The event is organised jointly by ACADP and the IPOV – Respectful Care project, which works to document, analyse and prevent obstetric violence while promoting respectful care models in different contexts.