Intercultural maternal health in the Peruvian Amazon: An unenforced policy

Pesantes M.A.; Bazán Maccera M.; Ponce Lucero V. · Human Organization (2025) · DOI: 10.1080/00187259.2024.2435614

Resumen

Peru has promoted the use of an intercultural approach as a cornerstone to reduce maternal mortality. The Intercultural Birth Policy was introduced in 2005 to ensure that Indigenous women give birth at a health facility, where doctors could save their lives in the case of an obstetric emergency. Intercultural health policies have at their heart the right of Indigenous people to receive health services that are respectful and cognizant of their medical knowledges and practices, and aim to challenge the subordinate position of Indigenous cultures. Through a qualitative study conducted in 2023 in the Peruvian Amazon, we explored the challenges and limitations of the implementation of this policy two decades after its introduction. We found a superficial and instrumental understanding of the policy by health workers, with the cultural adaptation of maternal care seen as a favor, not a right. Indigenous women experience discrimination and disdain towards their medical practices, which alienates them from the services to which they are entitled.