One of the most anticipated moments during pregnancy is the day when we will finally meet our baby. And it is that in the course of those nine months, we have imagined and dreamed of the arrival of that moment in which we will finally be able to see him with our own eyes.
However, although childbirth should be a positive experience, it is not always the case in all cases. According to a recent report carried out in the United States, one in six women claims to have suffered abuse during their pregnancy and childbirth .
Published in the journal Reproductive Health , the report presents the results of a survey on inequity and abuse during childbirth and pregnancy in the United States, in which more than 2,000 women participated, sharing their experience.
In it, they found that approximately 17% of them had received some kind of abuse such as yelling, scolding, threats, that they had been ignored or denied help, or had experienced a combination of several of them.
Within the abuse that one in six women reported having had , the following figures were obtained:
- 8.5% of them reported having received yelling or scolding from their healthcare provider.
- In the case of 7.8% of the respondents, the medical staff ignored them and their requests , or refused to help them.
- 5.5% suffered a violation of their physical privacy .
- 4.5% of them were threatened by medical personnel not to receive treatment, or were forced to have it when they did not want it.
The report also shows that much of the abuse occurred in women who had unplanned caesarean sections, and that it was exacerbated by unexpected obstetric interventions and disagreements between the patient and the medical staff .
Many of the participants who reported that their children had experienced some health problem after delivery also mentioned that they felt ignored, or that they had not been treated by medical personnel within an appropriate period when they had requested their help.
Obstetric violence, not just in the United States
The type of abuse that is mentioned in this new report is called obstetric violence and unfortunately, the United States is not the only country in which many women have claimed to receive this type of abuse during their pregnancy and childbirth.
In Spain, for example, a couple of years ago a study reported that approximately one in ten women felt that their delivery had been a traumatic experience, some due to health issues or complications that occurred during childbirth, but also due to the lack of support at key moments and impersonal treatment from the medical staff , as well as the feeling of not having been listened to by professionals and having suffered a lack of dignity and privacy.
Obstetric violence is something that happens almost invisibly , because although it may not leave physical traces, its effects can remain for a long time in the minds and emotional state of mothers, as they are victims of shouting, threats and insults, as well as to be minimized or ignored by medical personnel.
None of this should be happening. During labor, the medical staff is responsible not only for ensuring the health of the mother and baby , but also for ensuring that they treat the mother with respect at one of the most important moments of her life.
Fortunately, every day the numbers of obstetric violence are reduced more, and more doctors and health professionals give mothers the respectful and humane treatment they deserve during pregnancy and childbirth . The World Health Organization (WHO) has even published its recommendations for a positive birth experience.
Let us remember that the mother has rights that must be respected during childbirth and that all women, whether they have natural birth or cesarean section, deserve to have their babies in an environment of respect and where they receive humane treatment.
Photos | iStock
Via | Scary mommy
