A report by the Rodzi po Ludzku Foundation shows that 54.3% of Polish women giving birth experienced violence or abuse related to the behavior of staff or failure to complete all procedures. 1 . This violence takes many forms. For example, inappropriate behavior of staff, including verbal, depriving women of autonomy, decision-making and privacy. But it also manifested itself in the form of physical and psychological violence and deprivation of dignity. All forms of violence during childbirth are condemned by the WHO, the UN and the Council of Europe. In 2014, the WHO issued a statement condemning "physical violence, profound humiliation and verbal humiliation, failure to discuss medical procedures with the patient, lack of respect for medical confidentiality, refusal to administer anesthetic drugs and lack of respect for privacy" taking place in (too) many rooms maternity centers and hospitals around the world . The document emphasizes that the behavior of staff and the way they treat patients not only violate women's rights and are a form of discrimination, but also pose a threat to life 2 . The conclusions from this statement were repeated many times in WHO positions in subsequent years. Another report published by the UN indicated that violence in maternity wards affects the entire world . And in its 2019 resolution, the Council of Europe states: 3 that " obstetric and gynecological violence is a long-hidden form of violence that is still too often ignored." The French Arte television made an excellent documentary on this topic: "You will give birth in pain". It shows how women are treated in delivery rooms, what they experience in hospitals and what trauma these experiences involve. What do women who experience violence in delivery rooms feel? "It was as if someone was holding me down against me, by force." “I begged her to stop (pressing on her stomach). "I couldn't get myself together for many months." "She brutally threw my daughter at me." “Because of this nightmare, I didn't feel like it was childbirth. It was a scene of massacre," say the heroines of the film "You Will Give Birth in Pain" . One account reads: "The doctor came into the room, didn't even look at me, didn't explain anything, just asked if I'd been lying there for a long time." Then he said: I'll see you at the block. That's how I found out I was going to have a caesarean section. The same thing is happening in Poland. The Rodzi po Ludzku Foundation has been fighting for women's rights to a dignified childbirth for many years and collecting information about the situation in Polish maternity wards. And it doesn't look very good . Although much has changed for the better since the introduction of perinatal care standards, the way patients are treated still leaves much to be desired. Why is violence during childbirth so common? Even though the regulation of the Minister of Health on standards of perinatal care is binding, many facilities follow their own "standards" and there are virtually no control tools . This is one of the reasons why patients' rights are so often violated, including violence, which can take various forms. According to the Rodzi po Ludzku Foundation, the percentage of over 50% of women who fell victim to violence in the maternity ward consists of stories from women who experienced, among others: presence of midwifery students without the consent of the subject, staff using incomprehensible language, not respecting the requests of the woman giving birth, blackmailing, ridiculing, making inappropriate comments, poking, spreading legs when pushing, tying legs to the bed, forcing the birthing position. University of Oxford researcher Stella Villarmea , who looks at the phenomenon of perinatal violence, says: "Pregnant women should not be so obviously deprived of their full rights just because they end up in a maternity ward." In his book 4 writes about the reasons for this state of affairs. It highlights the fact that during childbirth, doctors and midwives often treat women as people with limited sanity 5 . Villarmea believes that health care workers do not challenge prevailing stereotypes about childbirth. This makes it easier for them to normalize violence . Because "it has always been like this". "Unnecessary episiotomy or cesarean sections and vaginal examinations performed without the woman's consent are examples of everyday violence in countries considered to have some of the best health care systems," says the researcher. How can we fight against childbirth violence? What each of us can do today to make such situations happen as rarely as possible - disseminate information about the rights of women giving birth. It is worth emphasizing that even verbal humiliation and criticism of a woman giving birth is violence . Medical staff should treat patients with due respect and not forcefully perform any tests or medical manipulations. A woman giving birth can and should talk about what is unacceptable to her. Politely but firmly. Bibliography: “Report on monitoring of maternity wards”. Rodzic po Ludzku Foundation, 2018 World Health Organization, (2014), WHO position: Preventing and eliminating disrespect and mistreatment of women giving birth in health facilities. “Obstetrical and gynecological violence”. Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, Resolution 2306 (2019). "Women's birthing bodies and the law: unauthorized intimate examinations, power and vulnerability" . “A novel approach to protecting women's rights during childbirth”, Controversies in Childbirth: from Epistemology to Practices, Cordis. Results of EU-supported research.
